Christian 


§  VOL  XI.  No.  4. 

*     FEi 


BI-MONTHLY. 

FEBRUARY  1894. 


AMORY  H.  BRADFORD.  D.D.,  Editor. 
Rev.  JOHN  B.  DEYINS,  Associate  Editor. 


•  MEMORIAL  NUMBER.  • 


A  TRIBUTE  TO 


CHARLES  F.  DEEMS,  D.D.,  LL.D., 

LATE  PASTOR  OF  THE  CHURCH  OF  THE  STRANGERS, 
PRESIDENT    OF    THE    AMERICAN    INSTITUTE    OF    CHRISTIAN    PHILOSOPHY. 


Founder  of  Christian  Thought,  and  its  Editor 
for  Ten  Years. 


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BV 

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A  volume  of  sermons,  of  which  the  Sword  and 
Trowel  says,  "are  just  suited  to  the  occasion."  The 
Bristol  Daily  Mail,  "a  volume  of  rare  excellence," 
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and  wins  many  hearts  and  souls." 

The  following  are  the  titles  and  texts: 

1.  Not  Quite  Sure.-  S  .  Luke  xvii.,  5. 

2.  Biijinat    iome  —  Songs  of  Solomon  i.,  6 

3.  Get  Wisdom.     Prov.  iv..  5. 

4    An  Un lamented  Departure. -I I.  Chron.  xxi.,20. 

5.  Speech  and  Silence.  — St.  Matt,  viii  ,  4. 

6.  The  Spirits  of  Just  Men  Made  Perfect.—  Heb. 

xii..  2^ 
7    The  Questionings    of   Old   Friends —Exodus 
vviii.,  7, 

8.  The  invitation  to  Church.  — Num.  x.,  29. 

9.  Is  there  Anything  ?     1    Kings  xviii.,  43. 

10.  Fruits  Meet  for  Repentance.  — St.  Matt,  iii.,  8. 
ix.  The  Communion  of  Saints  —  Ephes.  ji.,  1  |. 

12.  Joyful  in  the  House  of  Prayer  —Isa.  lvi.,  7. 

13.  Judged  of  Necessity. —Acts  iv.,  13. 


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A   SALUTATION. 

READERS  of  Christian'  Thought  will  notice  on  the  title 
page  of  this  magazine  that  the  name  which  has  been  first 
for  so  many  years,  the  honored  and  well-beloved  name  of  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Charles  F.  Deems,  has  disappeared,  and  that  another 
has  taken  its  place.  In  the  order  of  nature  such  changes  are 
imperative.  No  one  man  ever  lives  very  long,  or  is  permitted  to 
see  very  much  of  the  result  of  the  work  which  he  does.  All  our 
lives  reach  farther  than  our  poor  human  sight  can  follow  them. 
Dr.  Deems's  name  disappears  as  the  President  of  the  American 
Institute  of  Christian  Philosophy  and  as  Editor  of  CHRISTIAN 
THOUGHT.  At  the  unanimous  request  of  the  Executive  Commit- 
tee and  of  the  Board  of  Trustees,  meeting  in  united  session,  I 
have  consented,  for  a  little  time  at  least  and  so  far  as  I  am  able,  to 
take  up  the  work  which  Dr.  Deems  has  laid  down.  I  cannot  fail 
to  recognize  that  in  a  certain  sense  there  is  a  fitness  in  the  selec- 
tion. Of  course  I  speak  altogether  apart  from  any  personal  qual- 
ification; for  of  the  lack  of  that  I  am  painfully  conscious.  But 
the  first  suggestion  of  the  Institute  of  Christian  Philosophy  was 
made  in  a  conversation  between  Dr.  Deems  and  myself.  For  the 
first  few  years  we  divided  the  responsibility,  he,  of  course,  doing 
the  greater  amount  of  work  and  adding  the  inspiration  of  his 
honored  name.  During  the  succeeding  years  we  have  been  con- 
stantly associated  in  the  directorate  of  the  Institute.  At  the 
very  first  he  said  to  me  :  "  I  will  undertake  this  labor  if  you 
will  help  me."  As  well  as  I  could  I  have  endeavored  to  fulfil 
the  promise  then  made,  and  now  though  he  is  no  longer  with  us 
his  voice  seem  to  add  its  weight  to  the  expressed  wish  of  the 
Trustees  and  the  Executive  Committee  that  I  should  take  up 
the  work.     I  do  so  only  until  a  man  better  fitted  to  represent 

241 


242  MEMORIAL   TRIBUTE. 

the  philosophic  and  Christian  thought  of  our  time  maybe  chosen. 
Such  men  there  are,  and  such  an  one  I  doubt  not  in  due 
time  will  be  found.  Until  then  I  ask  the  sympathy  and  co- 
operation of  all  interested  in  the  cause  which  Dr.  Deems  has 
done  so  much  to  promote,  and  which  s  now  known  through- 
out the  land  and  the  world  as  The  American  Institute  of  Chris- 
tian Philosophy. 

The  first  President  of  this  Institute  was  in  every  way  a 
most  remarkable  man.  Circumstances  made  him  a  preacher 
rather  than  a  philosopher,  but  he  was  always  a  preacher  who 
recognized  the  need  of  a  philosophic  basis  for  theology  and 
ethics;  a  man  who  well  understood  the  value  of  a  true  apologetic 
literature  ;  who  fully  appreciated  our  indebtedness  to  the  pas  , 
and  whose  eyes  were  always  open  toward  the  future.  A  strong, 
earnest  philosophic  thinker,  with  the  gift  of  putting  his  thought 
into  felicitous  expression,  Dr.  Deems  has  left  an  influence  which 
will  grow  stronger  and  more  vital  for  many  years  to  come.  His 
ministry  in  the  Church  of  the  Strangers  was  far  larger  than  was 
indicated  by  the  size  of  the  congregations  which  gathered  to  heat 
him  preach,  for  in  that  church  he  spoke  to  people  gathered  from 
all  parts  of  the  Union.  His  message  of  hope  and  brotherhood, 
and  his  constant  appeal  for  a  thoughtful  and  rational  presentation 
of  truth  probably  reached  more  men  in  the  South  than  that  of 
any  other  Northern  preacher.  Dr.  Deems  has  left  no  eminent 
contribution  to  literature  or  philosophy,  but  he  has  been  the 
friend,  the  sympathizer  and  the  helper  of  those  who  had  time  for 
more  quiet  study  than  his  busy  life  allowed.  He  has  inspired 
many  students  with  a  passion  for  truth,  and  opened  many  doors 
which  without  him  would  have  remained  for  a  long  time  closed. 
If  he  has  not  had  time  to  be  a  philosopher,  he  has  somehow  found 
time  for  the  more  difficult  work  of  making  philosophers.  The 
American  Institute  of  Christian  Philosophy  has  never  attracted  the 
attention  of  the  multitude — such  quiet  work  never  attracts  large 
attention — but  it  has  accomplished  results  out  of  all  proportion 
to  what  it  has  been.  It  has  carried  real  "  Christian  thought "  to 
thousands  of  eager  thinkers  who  would  otherwise  have  been  with- 
out it ;  it  has  furnished  a  true  apologetic  literature  to  many  both 
at  home  and  abroad  who  were  most  in  need  of  it  ;  it  has  done 


MEMORIAL    TRIBUTE.  243 

much  in  quarters  where  its  value  has  not  been  understood  to  give 
to  the  Christian  truth  of  our  time  a  rational  presentation.      Dr. 
Deems  has  done  more  than  all  the  rest  of  the  Institute  combined 
to  realize  these  results.     His  place  no  one  can  fill.     But  the  con- 
ditions    are    different    now    from    what     they    were     when    he 
accepted  this  Presidency,  and  possibly  others  can   now  take  it  up 
and  perform   with   equal  success   the   duties  which  the  changed 
conditions  of  the  changing  times  demand.    Whatever  may  be  the 
future  of  the  Institute  of  Christian  Philosophy,  it  will  always  be 
inseparably  associated  with  the  name  and  memory  of  Charles  F. 
Deems  ;  and  whatever  modifications  may  be  made  necessary  in 
the  new  times  which  are  before  us,  nothing-  can  take  from  the 
world  the  influences  which  he  has  started  and  which  will  never 
cease  to  be  a  blessing.     If  I  had  been  asked  to  take  up  and  con- 
tinue the  service  which  Dr.  Deems  has  rendered  to  this  cause, 
I  should  have  instantly  declined,  knowing  that   to  be  impossi- 
ble.    As  one  who  stood    in    relation    to    him  almost   as  a  son, 
who  honored  him  as  a  father,  who  rejoiced  in  his  work  and  is 
grateful  for  his    influence  and  inspiration,  it  is  my  pleasure  to 
undertake  for  a  little  time  the  labor  of  preserving  what  he  has 
accomplished,  until  abler  hands  may  assume  the  responsibilities 
of  this  office  and  win  new  victories  for  the  truth  to  be  laid  at  the 
feet  of  Him  who  is  "  The  Wav,  the  Truth  and  the  Life." 


It  remains  for  me  to  make  a  very  pleasing  acknowledgment. 
It  would  be  impossible  for  me  at  the  present  time  to  discharge 
the  other  duties  which  are  laid  upon  me  and  also  edit  this  maga- 
zine, if  I  were  not  assured  of  the  cordial  cooperation  of  the  Rev. 
John  B.  Devins,  who  has  had  upon  his  shoulders  the  entire  re- 
sponsibility of  the  editorship  of  CHRISTIAN  THOUGHT  during  the 
illness  of  Dr.  Deems.  Mr.  Devins's  editorial  accomplishments 
are  well  known,  and  his  fidelity  and  ability  have  been  abun- 
dantly proven.  I  beg  the  readers  of  CHRISTIAN  Thought 
to  ascribe  to  his  editorial  instinct  and  critical  eye  by  far  the 
largest  part  of  whatever  excellence  this  magazine  may  have  in  the 
future.  With  the  responsibilities  of  a  large  and  difficult  city 
work  on  his  hands,  and  with  duties  in  connection  with  one  of  the 
leading  New  York  dailies,  it  is  a  wonder  to  his  friends  how  he 


244  MEMORIAL   TRIBUTE. 

has  found  time  to  do  such  valuable  work  as  he  has  done  in  con- 
nection with  Christian  Thought;  and  it  gives  me  great  pleas- 
ure to  be  able  to  announce  that  in  the  future,  as  in  the  past,  he 
will  continue  his  connection  with  this  magazine. 

Amory  H.  Bradford. 


UNVEILED  VISION. 

Back  of  the  dawn  with  its  mystical  beauty, 
Back  of  the  wonder  of  sunlight  and  star, 
Back  of  all  mysteries  haunting  earth's  pilgrimage, 
Back  of  all  problems  that  baffle  and  bar ! 

Out  in  the  splendor  of  limitless  being  ! 

Thrilled  with  possession  of  limitless  powers  ! 
Cycle  on  cycle  before  him  far  sweeping, 

Grand  for  achievement  unfettered  by  hours! 

One  with  Life's  Centre  !     Beholding  the  secret 

That  hides  in  the  atom  and  breathes  from  the  rose — 

The  subtle  vibrations  'twixt  matter  and  spirit 
Which  no  lens  of  science  can  ever  disclose ! 

Gazing  on  Him  !     Face  to  face  with  the  Master ! 

The  Lord  of  Creation  !     The  Lamb  that  was  slain  ! 
Clasping  the  hand  that  fashioned  the  Universe ! 

Kissing  the  nail-prints  that  solaced  its  pain  i 

Gazing  on  Jesus — his  soul's  deepest  passion  ! 

Source  of  all  beauty,  all  sweetness,  all  power  I 
The  glories  he  sang  of  Him,  spake  of  Him,  dreamed  of  Him, 

Verified  now  in  this  transcendent  hour ! 

Oh,  rapturous  moment  of  unveiled  vision  ! 

Oh,  joy  of  the  faith  the  world  cannot  disprove! — 
The  faith  that  "  holds  out " — through  darkest  clouds  singing — 

The  key  to  the  problems  of  all  realms  is  Love ! 

Julia  G.  Skinner. 


CHARLES   FORCE   DEEMS. 

By  the  Rev.  John  B.  Devins  of  New  York. 

a  sketch  of  his  varied  and  useful  career. 
Scores  of  men  whom  he  has  helped  in  their  ministry,  instilling 
into  their  lives  something-  of  the  variety  of  his  attainments,  the 
sweetness  of  his  nature  and  the  nobility  of  his  character,  have 
paid  public  tribute  to  the  life  and  services  of  the  Rev.  Charles  F. 
Deems,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  the  gifted  preacher,  the  faithful  pastor, 
the  stranger's  friend.  Though  a  member  of  no  denomina- 
tion, he  was  the  friend  of  all  religious  bodies,  and  now  that  he 
has  laid  down  his  work  all  men  unite  in  honoring  his  memory. 
This  was  not  delayed  until  his  death,  however.  Frequently  after 
he  had  shown  what  a  stranger  could  accomplish  for  strangers  in 
New  York,  he  became  the  recipient  of  many  appreciative  letters 
from  men  high  in  public  life,  as  well  as  the  dwellers  in  humble 
tenement  homes,  telling  of  the  personal  help  which  had  been 
received  from  him.  Happy  is  the  pastor  who  has  made  the  day 
brighter  for  one  individual  ;  far  more  happy  still  is  he  who  has 
the  faculty  of  making  all  with  whom  he  comes  in  contact  carry- 
more  easily  the  burdens  assigned  to  them.  In  nearly  every 
newspaper,  secular  and  religious,  throughout  the  land,  kindly 
editorial  mention  has  been  made  of  the  debt  which  Christendom 
owes  Dr.  Deems.     Of  few  public  men  could  it  be  said  more  truly  : 

None  knew  him  but  to  love  him, 
None  named  him  but  to  praise. 

Born  in  Baltimore  on  December  4,  1820,  Dr.  Deems  spent 
nearly  forty-five  years  in  Southern  States  ;  the  last  twenty-eight 
years  were  lived  in  this  city.  He  believed  in  the  cause  for  which 
the  South  contended  sufficiently  to  give  his  influence  and  his 
eldest  son  in  its  service,  and  his  early  affection  for  the  Southland 
did  not  cool  when  he  accepted  the  issue  in  1865  and  threw  all 
the  force  of  his  mature  manhood  into  the  work  of  reconstruction. 
The  South  has  had  no  more  ardent  friend  than  Dr.  Deems  ;  the 
National  Government  has  had  no  more  loyal  supporter  than  he. 
If  he  was  first  in  war,  he  was  also  first  in  peace. 

245 


246  MEMORIAL   TRIBUTE. 

Dr.  Deems  received  a  careful  training  at  an  early  age  from  his 
father,  the  Rev.  George  W.  Deems,  who  was  a  Methodist  clergy- 
man, and  from  his  mother  (Mary  Roberts),  who,  upon  his  birth, 
dedicated  him  to  the  ministry  ;  his  grandfather  was  a  minister 
and  a  son  is  now.  He  was  converted  when  a  child  and  joined 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  (South)  in  July,  1834.  When 
he  was  fifteen  years  old  he  went  to  Dickinson  College,  at  Carlisle, 
Penn.,  intending  to  study  for  the  ministry.  In  1839  ^le  was 
graduated  with  honors  from  that  institution,  having  been  licensed 
to  preach  in  his  senior  year.  In  1842  the  college  gave  him  the 
degree  of  A  M.  Having  spent  the  winter  of  1840  in  New  York, 
he  preached  with  much  acceptance  in  several  city  churches.  He 
was  appointed  general  agent  for  the  American  Bible  Society  at 
that  time,  and  he  selected  North  Carolina  as  his  field  of  labor. 
In  1842,  when  he  was  only  twenty- two  years  old,  he  became 
professor  of  logic  and  rhetoric  in  the  University  of  North  Caro- 
lina, at  Chapel  Hill,  N.  C,  and  began  his  work  there  in  January, 

1843. 

The  same  year,  when  on  a  visit  to  New  York,  Dr.  Deems  met 
Miss  Anna  Disosway,  of  this  State,  under  romantic  circumstances, 
and  they  were  married  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Owen,  at  Asbury,  N.  J.t 
on  June  20,  1843.  Mr.Verdery,  their  son-in-law,  declared  recently 
that  to  his  wife  Dr.  Deems  was  "  courtly  knight  and  loyal  lover 
down  to  their  golden  wedding  day."  After  forty-nine  years  of 
married  life,  Dr.  Deems  obtained  a  newspaper  prize  for  the  best 
essay  on  "  How  to  Manage  a  Wife."  As  the  recipe  was  supposed 
by  his  friends  to  be  a  leaf  from  his  own  experience  the  essay  is 
given  entire  : 

"  Manage?  What  is  that?  Does  it  mean  to  control  ?  We 
manage  a  horse.  We  use  our  superior  human  intellect  to  con- 
trol and  guide  his  superior  physical  strength  so  as  to  obtain  the 
best  results.  But  a  wife  is  not  a  horse.  When  two  persons  are 
well  married  the  wife  is  as  superior  to  her  husband  in  many 
respects  as  he  is  superior  to  her  in  others.  If  happiness  is  to  be 
the  result  of  the  union  the  first  business  of  the  husband  is  to  man- 
age himself  so  as  to  keep  himself  always  the  wife's  respectful 
friend,  always  her  tender  lover,  always  her  equal  partner,  always 
her  superior  protector.     This  will   necessarily  stimulate  his  wife 


MEMORIAL    TRIBUTE.  247 

to  be  always  his  admiring  friend,  always  his  affectionate  sweet- 
heart, always  his  thrifty  housewife,  always  his  confiding  ward. 
And  this  will  so  react  upon  the  husband  that  his  love  for  his  wife 
will  grow  so  as  to  make  it  easy  for  him,  with  all  his  faults,  to 
bear  with  all  the  infirmities  of  his  '  one  and  only'  wife." 

Dr.  Deems  remained  in  the  University  of  North  Carolina  for 
five  years,  and  in  1848  he  accepted  the  chair  of  natural  science 
in  Randolph-Macon  College,  at  Ashland,  Va.  After  a  year  he 
returned  to  North  Carolina,  and  was  stationed  in  a  Methodist 
Church  at  Newbcrne.  In  1850  he  was  elected  delegate  to  the 
General  Conference  held  at  St.  Louis.  While  this  was  in  session 
he  was  called  to  the  presidency  of  the  Greensboro  Female  Col- 
lege in  North  Carolina.  Here  he  remained  for  five  years  and 
won  the  warmest  encomiums  from  the  friends  of  education  in  the 
South.  During  this  period  he  rendered  a  very  important  service 
to  the  Conference  and  the  Church  by  placing  the  college  on  a 
permanent  basis  of  prosperity.  Randolph-Macon  College  gave 
him  the  degree  of  D.D.  in  1852.  His  degree  of  LL.D.  was  con- 
ferred in  1877  by  the  University  of  North  Carolina. 

In  1854  Dr.  Deems  again  returned  to  the  ministry  and  was  a 
member  of  the  General  Conference  that  year  and  again  in  1858; 
twice  the  Episcopate  was  offered  to  him.  After  preaching  at 
Goldsboro  and  Wilmington  he  was  elected,  in  1858,  president  of 
the  Centenary  College  in  Louisiana,  and  either  president  or  pro- 
ressor  of  eight  other  institutions  in  a  short  time.  Two  years  later 
ie  spent  six  months  in  Europe,  visiting  its  principal  cities  and 
institutions.  He  landed  in  this  city  the  day  following  Abraham 
Lincoln's  election  as  President,  and  noticing  the  bulletins  in  front 
of  a  newspaper  office,  and  appreciating  the  situation,  he  hastened 
to  his  home  in  the  South  and  made  preparations  for  the  Civil 
War,  which  he  foresaw.  Shortly  afterwards  the  professorship  of 
history  in  the  University  of  North  Carolina  was  offered  to  him, 
but  he  declined  it.  The  citizens  of  Wilson  County,  N.  C,  offered 
him  directly,  as  a  gift,  a  fine  college-building,  only  on  condition 
that  he  would  establish  there  a  school  for  boys  and  girls.  He 
accepted  the  offer  and  organized  the  school,  continuing  in  the 
position  of  presiding  elder.  In  the  discussion  which  brought  on 
the  war,  Dr.  Deems  vigorously  opposed  the  secession    of  his 


248  MEMORIAL   TRIBUTE. 

State;  but  when  North  Carolina  seceded,  after  Virginia  had 
withdrawn  from  the  Union,  he  was  loyal  to  the  Government 
which  had  been  established,  and  Gen.  Robert  E.  Lee  and  Jeffer- 
son Davis  found  in  him  a  warm  supporter. 

After  the  war,  when  all  his  possessions  had  been  swept  away, 
Dr.  Deems  came  to  this  city,  reaching  here  in  December,  1865. 
What  seemed  a  calamity  proved  a  blessing  to  himself  and  the 
city,  as  it  broadened  his  field  of  usefulness  and  brought  thou- 
sands under  his  influence  who  would  never  have  known  him  had 
he  remained  in  the  South.  Dr.  Deems's  first  venture  in  New 
York  was  in  journalism,  for  which  he  had  a  strong  taste  all  his 
life.  He  hoped  by  that  means  to  promote  union  and  good  fel- 
lowship between  the  North  and  the  South.  He  was  much  strait- 
ened in  circumstances,  and  was  obliged  to  seek  the  shelter  and 
warmth  of  a  neighboring  billiard  saloon  for  a  study,  and  there 
amid  the  click  of  the  balls  he  wrote  upon  his  knee  most  of  the 
articles  for  his  journal,  The  Watchman,  which  was  issued  weekly 
as  a  religious  and  literary  journal.  The  editor  aimed  at  both  a 
Northern  and  Southern  circulation,  hoping  in  this  way  to  pro- 
vide for  his  family  and  help  to  establish  a  feeling  of  mutual  con- 
fidence in  both  the  North  and  the  South.  But  he  was  disap- 
pointed in  this  venture.  It  was  too  near  the  stormy  days.  Not 
succeeding  according  to  his  expectation,  he  left  this  at  the  end 
of  the  year,  and  from  that  time  became  identified  with  the  Church 
of  the  Strangers. 

Mrs.  Frerichs,  who  heard  Dr.  Deems  preach  in  Jersey  City, 
made  him  promise  that  he  would  preach  a  few  times  in  New 
York ;  so  he  hired  the  small  chapel  of  the  University  of  the  City 
of  New  York  for  one  month  for  §25  and  became  personally  re- 
sponsible for  the  rent.  The  first  sermon  was  preached  on  July 
22,  1866,  fifteen  persons,  including  five  from  the  preacher's  fam- 
ily, comprising  the  congregation.  On  the  third  Sunday  he  an- 
nounced that  the  services  would  terminate  the  following  Sunday. 
A  gentleman  proposed  that  a  collection  be  taken  every  Sunday 
to  defray  expenses,  and  Dr.  Deems  was  urged  to  remain.  The 
congregation  soon  filled  the  little  chapel,  and  the  following  year 
Dr.  Deems  was  glad  to  move  to  the  larger  chapel  of  the  Univer- 
sity.    An  executive  committee  of  gentlemen  of  different  denomi- 


MEMORIAL    TRIBUTE.  249 

nations  was  formed,  and  a  resolution  was  passed  to  continue  to 
keep  "The  Strangers' Sunday  Home"  open  for  public  worship. 
Just  before  the  congregation  moved  into  the  larger  chapel  Dr. 
Deems  was  elected  president  of  two  colleges,  one  in  California 
and  the  other  in  Georgia,  but  his  people  begged  him  to  stay  with 
them,  and  he  consented  to  remain  where  he  was  and  declined 
both  presidencies.  On  the  first  Sunday  of  January,  1868,  a  1 
lution  to  organize  a  "  free  and  independent  "  church  was  adopted, 
and  thirty-two  persons  enrolled  themselves  and  formed  "The 
Church  of  the  Strangers."  The  Apostles'  Creed  was  incorpo- 
rated into  the  ritual.  In  an  anniversary  sermon  delivered  by  Dr. 
Deems  in  1871  he  mentioned  some  of  the  discouragements  which 
attended  the  enterprise.     He  said  : 

"  Still  there  were  great  drawbacks  to  our  work.  We  were 
up  three  flights  of  stairs,  in  a  chapel,  from  which  we  might  be 
ejected  at  the  close  of  the  year.  We  were  afloat.  Men  do  not 
like  to  make  an  attachment  to  an  unsettled  enterprise.  We  had 
no  committee,  no  room,  no  Sunday-school,  no  place  for  social 
prayer  without  heating  up  that  large  chapel.  While  devoting 
myself  to  the  pastoral  work  of  a  parish  circle  twelve  miles  in 
diameter,  many  weary  hours  were  spent  in  asking  whereunto  all 
this  would  lead,  and  whether  it  would  not  end  in  a  failure.  God 
only  knows  the  heart-throbs  that  would  have  been  spared,  but 
which  doubtless  were  necessary  for  discipline,  if  we  could  have 
foreseen  what  was  in  store  for  us." 

Among  those  who  went  to  hear  him  in  the  University  Chapel 
were  Horace  Greeley,  the  Editor  of  the  7ri/?uue,a.nd  his  friends, 
the  Cary  sisters.  In  a  short  time  he  compiled  a  hymn  book 
with  the  assistance  of  Miss  Phoebe  Cary.  The  funeral  of  Miss 
Alice  Cary  took  place  in  the  Church  of  the  Strangers.  Dan- 
iel Drew  was  also  a  frequent  listener  to  the  preaching  for 
strangers.  Others  frequently  in  attendance  at  these  chapel 
services  were  Mrs.  Crawford  and  her  daughter,  of  Mobile,  who 
were  visiting  New  York,  and  became  interested  in  Dr.  Deems 
as  a  clergyman  of  their  own  denomination.  Miss  Crawford 
in  1869  became  the  wife  of  Cornelius  Vanderbilt,  better  known 
as  Commodore  Vanderbilt.  When  a  young  man  Mr.  Vander- 
bilt had  received  favors  from  the  father  of  Mr.  Deems  and  he 


250  MEMORIAL   TRIBUTE. 

had  met  Dr  Deems  in  i860.  This  combination  of  circum- 
stances, and  the  late  acquaintanceship  and  a  new  wife  led  the 
Commodore  to  regard  the  work  for  the  strangers  with  favor. 
He  admired  the  breadth  of  the  new  religious  society  and 
believed  in  the  orthodoxy  of  its  pastor. 

In  1870,  through  the  liberality  of  Commodore  Vanderbilt, 
who  purchased  the  property  of  the  Mercer  Street  Presbyterian 
Church  for  $50,000  and  gave  it  to  Dr.  Deems  for  the  use  of 
his  congregation,  the  Church  of  the  Strangers  had  a  building 
of  its  own.  The  gift  was  joyfully  accepted,  the  necessary 
repairs  were  made,  Dr.  Deems  undertaking  the  responsibility  of 
the  outlay,  and  the  church  was  opened  for  service  on  the  first 
Sunday  in  October  in  1870.  In  the  sermon  already  quoted 
Dr.  Deems  explained  the  proprietorship  of  the  church  as  follows: 

"  There  is  one  mistaken  opinion  afloat  which  we  are  happy 
to  be  able  to  set  right.  It  has  been  said  that  as  Commodore 
Vanderbilt  has  settled  this  property  upon  Dr.  Deems  for  the 
term  of  his  natural  life,  when  he  dies  the  church  will  go  to  the 
Commodore's  heirs.  This  is  not  so.  Nine  trustees,  duly  elected 
according  to  the  laws  of  New  York,  became  residuary  trustees ; 
and  they  and  their  successors  are  to  keep  this  property  in 
trust,  so  that  there  shall  be  a  free  church  for  strangers  in  New 
York  forever.  It  can  never  revert.  It  was  not  only  a  free  but  a 
full  gift." 

Dr.  J.  M.  Buckley,  who  knew  Dr.  Deems  intimately  during 
his  entire  residence  in  this  city  and  delivered  the  funeral  oration, 
writes  this  of  his  relation  with  Commodore  Vanderbilt :  "  He 
formed  a  strong  friendship  with  the  Commodore,  aided  Bishop 
McTyeire  in  connection  with  the  establishment  of  Vanderbilt 
University,  and  during  the  Commodore's  long  illness  conversed 
with  him  freely  on  the  subject  of  personal  religion.  The  life 
of  the  aged  man  having  been  worldly  and  successful  in  equal 
degrees,  his  efforts  to  find  a  hope  of  heaven  were  as  pathetic  as 
Dr.  Deems's  efforts  to  guide  him  were  simple  and  sincere.  It  is 
impossible  for  human  beings  to  estimate  the  result,  but  the  Com- 
modore, to  whom  he  had  endeavored  to  impart  spiritual  things, 
communicated  unto  him  in  carnal  things  by  leaving  him  a 
bequest  o  $  20,000." 


MEMORIAL    TRIBUTE.  25  I 

The  Church  of  the  Strangers  was  Dr.  Deems's  greatest  mis- 
sion in  life.  For  twenty-eight  years  he  ministered  to  his  inde- 
pendent flock,  and  the  church  which  started  in  the  little  chapel 
with  fifteen  people  for  a  congregation  grew  under  his  ministra- 
tions until  the  building,  which  seats  1 250,  was  for  years  filled  with 
people  Sunday  after  Sunday.  The  seats  are  all  free,  the  support 
of  the  church  being  derived  from  collections  at  the  services,  from 
the  voluntary  subscriptions  of  members  and  from  gifts.  There 
is  a  flourishing  Sunday-school,  an  active  young  people's  Society 
of  Christian  Endeavor,  and  a  missionary  society  which  supports 
a  missionary  and  his  wife  in  China,  a  society  of  ladies  called 
11  The  Sisters  of  the  Stranger,"  of  which  Mrs.  Deems  is  president, 
which  ministers  to  the  wants  of  poor  strangers  in  the  city,  and  in 
a  quiet  way  accomplishes  much  good. 

At  a  monthly  meeting  of  the  Church  of  the  Strangers,  in 
November,  1886,  a  resolution  was  carried,  providing  for  the 
appointment  of  a  committee  to  prepare  a  Church  History.  The 
result  of  this  resolution  was  the  writing  of  a  book  by  Mr.  Joseph 
S.  Taylor,  Mr.  Marion  J.  Verdery  and  Miss  Cecile  Sturtevant, 
called  u  A  Romance  of  Providence."  The  book  traces  the  rise 
and  growth  of  the  church  from  the  beginning  to  the  year 
1887,  under  the  guidance  of  Dr.  Deems,  and  tells  in  itself  a 
remarkable  story  of  how  the  church  met  and  overcame  seeming 
impossibilities.  In  October,  1887,  Thanksgiving  services  were 
held  in  commemoration  of  the  close  of  twenty-one  years'  life 
of  the  Church  of  the  Strangers  under  Dr.  Deems.  The  church 
was  packed  with  people,  and  addresses  were  made  by  the  Rev. 
Dr  Armitage,  the  Rev.  Dr.  MacCracken,  the  Rev.  Dr.  John  Hall, 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Philip  SchafT,  Archdeacon  Mackay-Smith,  the  Rev. 
Dr.  William  M.  Taylor,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Howard  Crosby,  Rabbi 
Gottheil  and  many  others,  thus  showing  the  great  respect  in 
which  Dr.  Deems  was  held  by  the  representatives  of  the  various 
religious  denominations  in  New  York  City.  Letters  were  received 
from  scores  of  prominent  clergymen  expressing  their  good  will 
and  esteem. 

In  addition  to  his  pastoral  duties,  Dr.  Deems  has  been  an  in- 
defatigible  worker.  He  has  been  in  demand  as  a  public  speaker 
more  than  the  majority  of  city  clergymen  even,  and  he  has  had 


252  MEMORIAL  TRIBUTE. 

a  larger  number  of  lecture  engagements,  winter  and  summer 
alike.  When  not  preaching  in  his  own  pulpit,  he  has  helped  his 
brother  ministers.  He  has  also  written  many  volumes,  among 
them  being:  "  Triumph  of  Peace,  and  Other  Poems  "  (New  York, 
1840),  "Life  of  Adam  Clarke,  LL.D."  (1840),  "Devotional 
Melodies"  (Raleigh,  N.  C,  1842),  "Twelve  College  Sermons" 
(Philadelphia,  1844),  "The  Home  Altar "  (New  York,  1853,  Ed. 
1881),  "What  Now?"  (New  York,  1853),  "Forty  Sermons 
Preached  in  the  Church  of  the  Strangers"  (1871),  "Jesus  "  (1872), 
new  edition  with  title  "The  Light  of  the  Nations"  (1880), 
"Weights  and  Wings"  (1872,  new  edition  1878),  "Sermons" 
(1885);  "  The  Gospel  of  Common  Sense"  and  "The  Gospel  of 
Spiritual  Insight,"  published  within  a  few  years,  were  studies  on 
the  Epistle  of  James  and  the  Gospel  of  John;  "My  Septuagint," 
published  in  1892,  contains  articles  written  after  he  was  seventy 
years  old;  "Chips  and  Chunks  for  every  Fireside  "  (New  York), 
"  Sunshine  for  Dark  Hours,"  "  Story  of  a  Church  Bonnet," 
"  Evolution:  A  Scotch  Verdict."  With  Phoebe  Cary,  he  edited 
"  Hymns  for  all  Christians"  (New  York,  1869,  new  edition  1881), 
with  Theodore  E.  Perkins,  "  Coronation  Hymns  and  Songs,  for 
Prayer  and  Praise  Meetings  "  (New  York,  1879). 

From  1846  to  185 1  Dr.  Deems  edited  The  Southern  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Pulpit,  and  from  1849  to  1859  was  also  editor  of 
The  Annals  of  Southern  Methodism.  From  1876  to  1879  The 
Sunday  Magazine,  published  by  Frank  Leslie,  was  edited  by 
him,  and  since  1882,  CHRISTIAN  THOUGHT,  the  organ  of  the 
American  Institute  of  Christian  Philosophy,  of  which  he  was  the 
principal  founder.  Since  1876  he  had  been  a  member  of  the 
Council  of  the  University  of  the  City  of  New  York,  and  had  es- 
tablished a  fund  to  help  worthy  students  there  as  he  had  for- 
merly done  in  the  University  of  North  Carolina. 

At  the  Summer  School  of  the  American  Institute  of  Christian 
Philosophy  last  July,  three  separate  accounts  were  given  of  its 
origin.  It  seemed  to  have  a  providential  birth,  three  men  at 
least  having  similar  ideas  of  the  need  of  such  an  organization,  all 
agreeing  that  one  could  be  carried  on  in  this  city.  The  Rev.  Ed- 
ward M.  Deems,  who  filled  the  pulpit  of  the  Church  of  the  Stran- 
gers so  acceptably  during  his  father's  absence  in  Europe  in  i88o> 
had  this  to  say  about  the  beginning  of  the  organization: 


MEMORIAL   TRIBUTE.  253 

"  My  father  was  sent  away  by  his  people  in  1S80  for  rest  in 
Egypt  and  Palestine.  On  his  way  home  he  attendee!,  in  London, 
a  meeting  of  the  Victoria  Institute.  It  being  learned  that  an 
American  clergyman  was  present,  he  was  called  upon  to  take  part 
in  the  discussion.  With  his  usual  enthusiasm  he  flung  himself 
with  his  whole  soul  into  the  occasion,  and  made  an  address  which 
was  reported  in  both  the  British  and  American  papers. 

"  In  that  way  he  became  acquainted  with  the  Victoria  Insti- 
tute, which  gave  him  the  idea  of  the  American  Institute  of  Chris- 
tian Philosophy.  The  two  institutions  are  similar.  They  have 
for  their  object  the  creating  of  a  literature  which  is  calculated  to 
be  an  antidote  to  the  agnosticism,  materialism  and  other  forms 
of  false  philosophy  of  our  age  ;  and  this  literature  is  created  by 
lectures  delivered  during  the  winter  season,  in  the  city  of  New 
Vork  in  the  case  of  the  American  Institute,  and  in  London  in 
the  case  of  the  Victoria  Institute.  But  the  idea  was  gotten  by 
my  father  from  the  Victoria  Institute.  He  said:  'We  must 
have  a  similar  institution  in  America  sooner  or  later,  and  why 
not  now  ? ' 

"  As  you  know,  the  pastor  of  the  Church  of  the  Strangers  is  an 
eminently  practical  man,  so  he  brought  his  new  idea  to  America, 
and  he  fired  two  other  men  with  his  enthusiasm,  one  of  whom 
was  the  Rev.  Dr.  Amory  H.  Bradford,  of  Montclair,  N.  J.,  who 
put  his  brains  and  heart  into  the  work  with  my  father's  brains 
and  heart;  and  the  other  was  Mr.  William  O.  McDowell,  of 
Newark,  N.  J.,  who  assisted  with  his  brains,  heart  and  pocket- 
book;  and  these  are  the  parents  of  the  American  Institute  of 
Christian  Philosophy.  Usually  a  child  has  two  parents,  but  this 
one  had  three:  Dr.  Deems,  Dr.  Bradford  and  Mr.  McDowell. 
The  first  meeting  was  held  at  Greenwood  Lake,  N.  J.,  in  the 
summer  of  1880." 

The  growth  of  the  Institute  since  1880  has  been  steady,  and 
its  successful  history  is  an  additional  proof  of  the  untiring  energy 
of  its  first  and  only  president  during  his  life.  Dr.  Deems  believed 
in  it  heartily  and  worked  for  it  unceasingly.  He  was  very  anx- 
ious that  before  his  death  the  Endowment  Fund,  which  is  now 
$15,000,  should  be  doubled,  and  so  late  as  last  July  he  signed 
with  his  half- paralyzed  hand  the  following  letter: 


2  54  MEMORIAL   TRIBUTE 

Dear  Friend  : — The  American  Institute  of  Christian  Phi- 
losophy is  on  a  firmer  basis  to-day  than  ever  before  ;  the  prin- 
ciples for  which  it  stands  need  stronger  defence  than  at  any  pre- 
vious period  of  our  history  as  a  nation.  Much  aggressive  work 
has  already  been  done,  and  more  must  be  done  in  the  immediate 
future.  We  have  some  600  members,  a  prosperous  magazine, 
Christian  Thought,  and  an  Endowment  Fund  of  $15,000, 
carefully  invested.  If  this  Fund  could  be  doubled  within  a  year, 
the  future  of  the  Institute  would  be  assured.     We  need  : 

Six  Lectureships,  of  $1000  each $6.ooo 

Six  Patrons  to  give  $500  each 3, 000 

Sixty  Endowment  Members  to  give  $100  each 6,000 

$15,000 

The  Rev.  John  B.  Devins,  the  Corresponding  Secretary  of  the 
Institute,  is  authorized  by  me  to  receive  subscriptions  for  the 
Fund. 

Very  sincerely, 

Charles  F.  Deems. 


For  years  Dr.  Deems  bore  the  burden  of  the  magazine  largely 
on  his  own  shoulders.  Within  a  few  years  the  debt  was  paid, 
and  there  are  now  some  450  paying  members,  and  1 50  men  and 
women  who  have  become  life  members.  Would  that  the  wish  of 
Dr.  Deems  for  an  increased  endowment  could  be  fulfilled  this 
winter. 

Besides  his  clerical,  educational  and  literary  duties,  Dr. 
Deems  found  time  to  exhibit  a  great  deal  of  interest  in  moral 
and  philanthropic  subjects.  The  Christian  Endeavor  Society 
found  in  him  an  enthusiastic  friend.  He  was  at  heart  and  in 
practice  a  prohibitionist,  but  so  broad  were  his  sympathies  that 
he  could  preside  at  a  meeting  to  which  he  had  invited  men  with 
such  extreme  views  as  Gen.  Neal  Dow  and  Dr.  Howard 
Crosby.  He  said  to  the  writer  that  much  as  he  prayed  for  the 
day  to  come  when  total  abstinence  should  be  universal,  he  had 
never  preached  a  sermon  on  Prohibition  in  his  church  since  it 
had  become  a  political  issue.  His  pen  and  his  voice  were  active, 
however,  in  behalf  of  temperance  outside  of  the  pulpit,  and  when 
seventy  years  old  he  spoke  night  after  night  on  platforms  and 
trucks  in  the  Prohibition  campaign. 

One  of  the  most  noticeable  features  of  Dr.  Deems's  many-sided 


MEMORIAL   TRIBUTE.  255 

life  was  his  punctuality.  An  interesting  story  illustrating  this  is 
as  follows:  When  the  Franklin  statue,  in  front  of  the  Tribune 
building,  was  to  be  unveiled,  Dr.  Deems  was  invited  to  offer  the 
prayer.  He  was  working  in  his  study  up- town  with  his  watch 
before  him,  and  when  the  time  came  for  him  to  start,  he  went 
out  and  entered  a  car.  But  the  car  was  delayed  on  the  way 
down,  and  while  calculating  the  time  lost  by  that,  he  learned 
that  his  watch  was  a  minute  or  two  slow.  To  make  bad  worse, 
when  he  eventually  got  near  the  City  Hall,  he  four.d  Broadway 
and  the  side  streets,  as  far  down  as  the  Astor  House,  packed  by 
a  dense  crowd,  and  got  a  policeman  to  force  a  passage  for  him 
through  Spruce  Street  to  the  door  of  the  Tribune  office,  where 
the  gentlemen  who  were  to  take  part  in  the  ceremony  were  to 
meet.  Meanwhile,  within  the  office,  it  being  but  two  minutes  to 
twelve  o'clock,  the  appointed  hour  for  beginning,  one  of  the  gen- 
tlemen said:  "  We  are  all  here  but  Dr.  Deems  ;  shall  we  wait  for 
him  ?  "  Mr.  Greeley  replied  :  "  Dr.  Deems  lives  up-town,  he  may 
have  been  delayed."  Dr.  Prime,  who  knew  Dr.  Deems's  punctu- 
ality, added :  "There  are  still  two  minutes  to  twelve,  and  by 
that  time  either  Dr.  Deems  will  be  here  or  we  shall  have  to  send 
for  the  coroner."  The  absentee  was  then  outside  pushing  his 
way  hurriedly  up  Spruce  Street,  and  as  he  mounted  the  office 
steps  and  laid  his  hand  on  the  door  handle,  he  saw  through  the 
glass  in  the  door  that  the  two  hands  of  the  clock  were  together 
upon  twelve.  The  next  instant  he  stepped  inside  and  the  first 
stroke  of  the  hour  sounded. 

Dr.  Deems  leaves  besides  his  widow,  two  daughters  and  two 
sons.  Two  children  died,  one  an  infant,  and  the  other  a  lieuten- 
ant in  the  Confederate  Army,  who  was  fatally  wounded  at  Gettys- 
burg in  1863.  One  son,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Edward  M.  Deems,  is  the 
pastor  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church,  of  Horncllsville,  N.  Y. 
The  other  son,  Dr.  Frank  M.  Deems  is  a  physician  in  New  York 
City.  One  daughter  is  the  wife  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  J.  P.  Egbert,  of 
St.  Paul,  Minn.,  and  the  other  is  the  wife  of  Marion  J.  Verdery,  a 
broker,  at  whose  charming  home,  in  this  city,  he  spent  the  last 
months  of  his  varied,  useful  and  eventful  life. 


256  MEMORIAL  TRIBUTE. 


DR.  DEEMS  ON  DR.  CROSBY. 

The  following-  poem,  written  by  Dr.  Deems  in  1891,  on  the 
death  of  his  friend,  Dr.  Howard  Crosby,  describes  so  admirably 
the  characteristics  of  the  author  himself  that  it  is  given  a  place 
in  this  Memorial  number: 

It  is  not  true,  dear  friend,  it  is  not  true 
What  the  great  English  senator  hath  said, 
"  The  age  of  chivalry  is  past."     For  you 
Have  shown  the  saying  false. 

Who  calls  thee  dead? 
"  Dead?"     As  a  knight  is,  when  he  doth  but  lay 

Aside  his  armor  with  the  battle  won; 
Dead  as  a  knight  is,  who  has  gone  away, 

In  better  mail,  beneath  another  sun, 
To  urge  far  fiercer  battles  in  the  fray 

'Twixt  Right  and  Wrong,  where  thou  can'st  clearly  see 
The  lines  which  often  in  the  mortal  day 

Were  hidden  in  smoke  of  struggle.     We 
Think  only  of  thy  palpitating  soul 

That  longed  to  strike  the  tyrant  down  and  see 
The  weak  uplifted  and  the  sick  made  whole. 

The  King  hath  touched  thy  shoulder  with  His  sword 
Again,  Sir  Knight,  and  bidden  thee  once  more  rise. 

And  thou  hast  hearkened  to  thy  great  War- Lord. 

Go  up,  go  up  unto  thy  well-won  skies, 

While  we  stay  here  and  think  and  talk  of  thee, 
Until  we,  too,  shall  have  our  summons  hence,. 

So  by  thy  name  make  men  love  chivalry 
And  dare  do  right  without  mean  thought  of  consequence. 


FUNERAL  OF  DR.  CHARLES  F.  DEEMS. 

The  Church  of  the  Strangers  Crowded— *Dr,  Buckley, 
Rev.  Mr.  Hodson,  Dr.  Sabine  and  Dr.  Bradford 
take  Part — The  Masonic  Service. 

The  funeral  of  the  beloved  pastor  of  the  Church  of  the  Strangers 
took  place  on  November  2ist,  in  the  church  where  his  eloquence 
had  been  so  often  heard,  and  in  which  so  many  helpful  discourses 
and  so  many  kind  words  had  fallen  from  his  lips.  The  body  lay 
in  state  for  two  hours  before  the  services,  and  thousands  of  men, 
women  and  children  passed  in  front  of  the  pulpit  to  take  a  fare- 
well look  at  the  face  which  they  had  loved  so  well.  The  coffin 
was  covered  with  rich  black  cloth,  but  was  plainly  ornamented. 
Around  it  were  many  elaborate  and  costly  floral  tributes.  The 
members  of  the  family  present  were  :  Mrs.  Deems,  for  more  than 
fifty  years  companion  of  Dr.  Deems  ;  their  two  sons,  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Edward  M.  Deems,  of  Hornellsville,  N.  Y.,  with  his  wife;  Dr. 
Frank  M.  Deems,  of  this  city,  with  his  wife ;  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Marion  J.  Verdery,  of  this  city,  a  daughter  and  son-in-law,  and 
five  of  the  eleven  surviving  grandchildren  of  Dr.  Deems.  The 
other  daughter,  the  wife  of  the  Rev.  John  P.  Egbert,  of  St.  Paul, 
Minn.,  was  not  able  to  attend  the  funeral. 

The  pall-bearers  were  :  Dr.  George  W.  Clarke,  Jacob  R.  Reed, 
Robert  L.  Crawford,  S.  B.  Downes,  Cornelius  Vanderbilt,  John 
H.  Inman,  Dr.  Andrew  H.  Smith,  J.  J.  Little,  William  P.  St. 
John  and  Theodore  H.  Price.  In  the  audience  were  representa- 
tives of  three  Masonic  Commanderies  with  which  Dr.  Deems  had 
been  connected.  The  American  Institute  of  Christian  Philoso- 
phy, the  Council  of  the  University  of  the  City  of  New  York, 
the  Congregational  Club,  the  Southern  Society,  and  other  socie- 
ties and  institutions  which  Dr.  Deems  had  graced  with  his  pres- 
ence and  aided  with  his  influence,  had  many  representatives 
present.  On  the  platform  were  the  Rev.  Joseph  Merlin  Hodson, 
acting  pastor  of  the  church,  who  had  charge  of  the  services  ;  the 
Rev.  Dr.  James  M.  Buckley,  Editor  of  the  Christian  Advocate, 
who  delivered  the  eulogy;  the  Rev.  Dr.  Wm.  T.  Sabine,  of  the 
Reformed  Episcopal  Church,  who  offered  the  prayer,  and  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Amory  H.  Bradford,  who  pronounced  the  benediction. 

257 


258  MEMORIAL   TRIBUTE. 

PRAYER   BY   W.   T.    SABINE,    D.D. 

After  various  musical  selections  by  the  choir,  the  Rev.  Wm. 
T.  Sabine  was  called  upon  to  offer  prayer,  which  he  did  as  fol- 
lows : 

0  Thou,  in  whom  we  live  and  move  and  have  our  being,  and 
by  whose  mercy  we  are  spared  from  day  to  day,  Thou  orderest 
our  coming;  Thou  appointest  the  time  of  our  departure;  Thou 
assignest  to  us  our  work.  We  recognize  Thy  gracious  care,  Thy 
sovereign  direction  in  the  ways  of  life,  and  we  gather  here  to- 
day, as  under  the  shadow  of  a  great  grief,  a  cloud  of  sorrow  rest- 
ing on  our  hearts.  In  Thy  wise,  merciful  and  gracious  Provi- 
dence, it  has  pleased  Thee  to  remove  the  loved  pastor,  the  dear 
father,  the  tender  and  sympathizing  friend,  the  wise  teacher,  the 
good  example.  We  bow  before  Thee  in  submission.  "  Father, 
not  our  will,  but  thine  be  done."  And  yet,  our  Father,  we  come 
with  the  language  of  joy  and  thanksgiving  on  our  lips,  for  even 
here,  in  the  very  presence  of  death,  here  with  the  grave  opening 
before  us,  we  stand  to  say  with  Thy  servant  of  old  "  Thanks  be 
to  God  which  giveth  us — which  hath  given  him — the  victory 
through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  We  are  here  to  thank  Thee  for 
this  life  of  love,  devotion,  tenderness  and  its  achievements. 
We  are  here,  as  we  look  back  down  the  vista  of  the  years,  to  bless 
Thee  that  in  Thy  grace  and  providence  Thou  didst  long  ago  call 
him  to ''the  knowledge  of  thy  grace  and  faith  in  thee";  that 
Thou  didst  lead  him  on  through  the  paths  of  youth  to  ma- 
turity ;  that  counting  him  faithful,  Thou  didst  put  him  into  this  so 
blessed  and  useful  ministry.  We  are  here  to  thank  Thee  for  this 
heart  that  has  beat  so  truly  and  tenderly  ;  for  this  hand  that  has 
ever  been  ready  in  its  ministry  of  love ;  for  these  feet  which  have 
hastened  so  gladly  and  usefully  in  the  ways  of  the  Lord.  We 
are  here  to  thank  Thee  for  the  loving  and  genial  smile,  and  that 
personal  attractiveness  of  manner  which  did  so  much  to  commend 
to  us  and  many  others,  who  would  gladly  be  with  us  here  to-day, 
the  excellency  of  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ.  We  are  here  to 
praise  Thee  that  so  long  in  this  pulpit,  and  within  these  walls;  for 
so  many  years,  in  the  great  city  in  which  he  dwelt  he  has  been 
permitted  to  lift  up  his  voice  in  faithful  testimony  to  "  the  truth 


MEMORIAL   TRIBUTE.  259 

as  it  is  in  Jesus."  We  bless  Thee  that  here  he  never  failed  to 
declare  Christ  crucified  ;  and  was  ever  loyal  to  the  truth,  to  the 
Great  Teacher  and  His  written  Word  ;  that  here  from  his  lips 
have  sounded  forth  so  clearly  and  sweetly  the  message  of  that 
grace  and  love,  O  Christ,  which  is  in  Thee  !  For  all  he  was  per- 
mitted to  accomplish  with  a  pen  so  facile,  and  the  testimony 
to  Thy  truth  he  was  enabled  to  bear  in  this  and  in  other  places 
by  the  printed  page,  we  bless  Thy  name.  We  adore  Thee  also 
that  in  Thy  good  providence  he  passed  away  in  a  loved  home, 
ministered  to  by  the  tender  and  sympathetic  affection  of  those 
most  dear  to  him,  while  his  last  days  were  filled  with  such  sweet 
evidence  of  trust  and  of  unfaltering-  confidence  in  Thee.  For  him 
we  have  but  the  thought  of  faith,  the  word  of  love  and  gratitude. 
We  think  of  him  to-day  as  passed  into  the  great  company  of 
the  redeemed,  where  there  is  no  more  sorrow,  nor  any  more 
tears,  and  where  from  the  lips  of  the  dear  Master  Himself  he  hears 
the  word  of  welcoming,  "  Enter,  thou,  into  the  joy  of  thy  Lord  !  " 
But  we  cannot  forget  the  loss  that  we  sustain,  and  earnestly 
do  we  entreat  Thee,  heavenly  Father,  for  all  the  causes  in  which 
his  loving  heart  was  so  much  interested.  For  every  institution 
which  he  originated,  for  every  cause  which  enlisted  his  en- 
deavor, every  circle  with  which  he  was  identified,  we  pray,  now 
and  here,  Thy  blessing.  To  these  causes,  institutions,  circles, 
there  has  come,  we  keenly  feel,  a  great  and  very  real  loss.  Ah, 
Divine  Master,  how  shall  his  place  be  filled  for  us — for  them? 
Thou  knowest  in  Thy  grace  and  power.  We  pray  for  each  of 
them  according  to  the  need.  Give  them  all  good  prosperity. 
Give  them  all  uplift  and  ongoing.  Strengthen  them  each  one  as 
Thou  only  canst.  We  think  of  this  congregation,  his  dear  people, 
among  whom  he  has  gone  in  and  out,  across  whose  thresholds  he 
has  so  often  stepped;  to  whom  he  has  so  long  and  lovingly  and 
wisely  ministered  the  Word  of  life;  whose  children  he  has  blessed, 
many  of  whose  hands  he  has  joined  in  the  sacred  ties  of  marriage 
and  over  whose  dead  he  has  spoken  the  last  sad,  yet  helpful  and 
hopeful,  words  of  loving  ministry.  We  think  of  all  these  hearts  and 
homes,  of  the  dark  bereavement  that  has  come  to  them  now,  and 
we  pray  Thy  benediction  to  rest  upon  them.  Oh,  God,  our  God,  the 
great  Head  of  the  Church,  remember  this  congregation  in  Thy  spe- 


260  MEMORIAL   TRIBUTE, 

cial  love  and  favor  \  Give  to  each  member  of  it  now  Thy  grace,  and 
as  thou  hast  taken  away  the  dear,  the  trusted,  the  loved  and  hon- 
ored pastor,  and  be  to  them  all  that  he  would  have  Thee  be  to 
them.  Come  Thou  and  give  them  grace  for  every  need.  Remem- 
ber the  children  of  these  schools,  to  whose  simple  touching  song 
we  have  just  listened  ;  and  who  were  so  dear  to  him,  to  whom  his 
heart  went  out  so  freely,  and  his  gentle  counsels  were  so  wisely 
given.  May  they  "  grew  up  in  the  nurture  and  admonition  of  his 
Lord."  Let  Thy  peculiar  blessing  rest  upon  Thy  servants,  the 
heads  and  chosen  office-bearers  of  this  church,  and,  in  the  trying 
circumstances  in  which,  by'Thy  providence  they  are  now  placed 
give  them  abundant  wisdom,  succor  and  support. 

We  think,  Lord,  of  that  shadowed  home.  Thou  hast  taught 
us  to  "  weep  with  those  that  weep."  Ah,  we  know  something  of 
the  sorrow  that  is  there  for  the  father  and  the  husband  gone. 
We  take  these  dear  ones,  our  gracious,  tender  Lord — we  take 
them  in  the  arms  of  our  supplication  now,  and  lift  them  to  Thy 
throne  of  grace.  Oh,  Jesus,  Thou  who  canst  be  touched  with 
the  feeling  of  our  infirmities,  Thou  who  wast  tried  and  tempted 
like  as  we  are,  Thou  who  couldst  weep  at  the  grave  of  Lazarus, 
couldst  speak  that  word  of  grace  and  power  to  sorrowing  ones  at 
Bethany,  "I  am  the  resurrection  and  the  life,"  come  now  as  never 
Thou  didst  come  before,  in  intensity,  and  grace  and  power  to  this 
shadowed  home.  Thou  hast  promised  to  be  the  father  of  the 
fatherless,  and  the  husband  of  the  widow — oh,  verify  that  promise 
to-day  to  these  grief-stricken  children!  Be  with  us  also  who  shall 
bear  forth  to  its  last  earthly  resting  place  the  body  of  the  de- 
parted pastor,  father,  friend;  and  when  we  shall  return,  and  there 
shall  seem  to  be  a  sad  vacancy  in  the  church,  in  the  home,  in  the 
heart — blessed  Jesus,  come  Thou  near,  be  more  and  better 
than  ever  to  us.  Now  bless  us  all.  Surely  this  solemn  service 
for  us  all,  pastors,  relatives,  members  of  this  congregation,  friends 
of  our  departed  friend — surely  this  solemn  hour  has  its  voice  for 
each  one  of  us  !  Help  us  to  turn  to  Thee  a  listening  ear;  help  us 
to  say,  "  Speak,  Lord,  for  thy  servant  heareth."  May  the  ex- 
ample of  Thy  servant  be  with  each  one  a  living  memory  and 
force,  and  as  he  trod  the  path  of  life  eternal,  as  he  lifted  up  the 
dying  Lord,  as  he  sought  to  lead  men  to  the  truth,  so  may  we 


MEMORIA  L    TRIB  UTK.  26 1 

follow  him  as  he  followed  his  Master,  even  Christ.  Hear  us,  for 
Christ's  sake  in  these  our  askings,  and  at  last  bring  us  as  Thou 
hast  now  brought  him  to  that  great  Assembly  and  Church  of  the 
first  born  above,  whence  we,  as  he,  shall  go  no  more  out,  but  offer 
praise  and  service  to  Father,  Son  and  Spirit  evermore!     Amen. 

ADDRESS   OF  THE   REV.   JOSEPH    MERLIN    HODSON. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Hodson  spoke  as  follows: 

My  acquaintance  with  Dr.  Deems  was  comparatively  limited. 
I  knew  him  first  as  we  know  trees  from  their  fruit ;  then  I  knew  him 
as  a  silent,  eloquent  invalid.  A  great  many  of  his  congregation 
have  said,  "  If  you  had  only  known  Dr.  Deems  in  health,"  and  they 
have  tried  to  describe  him,  but  with  an  invariable  result — a  wish 
for  more  words  and  for  better  words.  Nobody  was  able  to  de- 
scribe him,  and  yet  I  feel  that  now,  after  months  among  his  peo- 
ple, I  do  know  him,  for  I  have  seen  him  in  men  and  women  to 
whom  he  had  preached,  whom  he  had  counselled,  who  learned  to 
see  what  he  saw,  and  who  grew  toward  him  out  of  their  love  for 
him.  From  the  business  world  I  have  often  "  suffered  violence" 
and  been  made  to  think  of  certain  articles  advertised,  by  the  in- 
cessant repetition  of  a  phrase  in  magazines  and  upon  advertising 
spaces.  So  I  was  first  compelled  to  think  of  Dr.  Deems  because 
of  the  unusual  love  people  had  for  him.  They  loved  him  so  well, 
so  naturally,  in  such  a  trusting,  familiar  way.  The  expression 
most  frequently  used,  one  not  often  used  of  men,  was,  as  it  seems 
to  me,  coined  not  by  the  intention  of  those  who  spoke  of  him, 
but  by  what  was  in  him,  as  coins  are  impressed  and  made  in  a 
mint.  So  many  got  their  own  greatest  satisfaction  in  saying, 
"  Oh,  he  was  such  a  lovable  man,"  I  would  rather  feel  like  saying 
that  of  Jesus  our  Lord  than  anything  else  it  would  be  possible  to 
say.  I  have  asked  many  persons  to  tell  me  about  Dr.  Deems  not 
by  a  characterization,  but  of  specific  things  which  he  did  for  them, 
and  of  things  which  he  said  to  them.  It  is  evident  that  he  was 
singularly  gifted  in  judgment  ;  unusually  possessed  of  common 
sense  ;  all  know  he  was  profound  and  scholarly,  but  perhaps  not 
more  than  others  in  this  great  metropolitan  city  of  distinguished 
men.  There  was,  however,  one  thing  in  which  he  probably  ex- 
celled nearly  all   other  men.     That  was   in  his  spirit.     He  was 


262  MEMORIAL  TRIBUTE. 


spiritually  minded.  The  Holy  Spirit  taught  him  as  He  does  oth- 
ers ;  but  his  spirit  was  finer  and  nobler,  it  was  broader  and  kinder 
than  is  allowed  in  almost  any  other  person  I  ever  knew,  so  that 
it  gave  him  a  uniformity  of  elevation,  a  force  of  kindliness  and 
dignity  that  is  very  rare.  He  was  true  and  good  in  his  inner  na- 
ture. Goodness  is  not  a  product  of  the  will,  nor  is  it  a  pleasant 
grace  of  manner.  It  is  neither  a  gush  of  feeling,  a  shake  of  the 
hand,  a  smooth  modulation  of  the  voice,  a  smile  nor  any  social 
sweetness. 

It  is  well  known  that  upon  one  side  Dr.  Deems  touched  and  won 
and  held  the  affection  of  the  very  rich  ;  upon  the  other  side  even 
more  strongly  he  entered  the  heart  of  the  very  poor.  Anybody 
had  in  him  enough  that  was  good  to  enlist  the  attention  of  Dr. 
Deems.  He  knew  the  weakness  of  the  "  bruised  reed  "  in  human 
nature,  and  was  quick  to  keep  the  "  smoking  flax  "  from  being 
quenched.  There  are  some  good  members  of  the  Church  of  the 
Strangers  to-day  whom  its  pastor  found  with  the  flame  of  good 
flickering  and  nearly  gone. 

It  was  my  privilege  to  see  him  often  during  his  affliction.  He 
always  produced  upon  me  the  effect  of  a  powerful  Christian  evi- 
dence, silent,  but  luminous,  lingering  awhile  in  evidence  just 
where  science  is  pressing  on  and  asking  hard  questions.  He  was 
always  so  sure,  seeing  clearly  where  it  is  mysterious  and  dark  to 
many.  He  stood  upon  the  borderland,  and  it  was  always  light 
about  him.  He  did  not  return  from  that  "  bourne  whence  no 
traveller  has  e'er  returned,"  but  from  the  edge  of  it  his  eyes  were 
bright,  his  face  lit  up  and  his  soul  glowing. 

What  if  some  morning,  when  the  stars  were  paling 
And  the  dawn  whitened  and  the  East  was  clear, 

Strange  peace  and  rest  fell  on  me  from  the  presence 
Of  a  benignant  spirit  standing  near  ; 

And  I  should  tell  him,  as  he  stood  beside  me, 

"  This  is  our  Earth — most  friendly  Earth,  and  fair  ; 

Daily  its  sea  and  shore  through  sun  and  shadow 
Faithful  it  turns,  robed  in  its  azure  air  ; 

"  There  is  blest  living  here,  loving  and  serving, 

And  quest  of  truth,  and  serene  friendships  dear  ; 
But  stay  not,  Spirit.     Earth  has  one  destroyer — 
His  name  is  Death  ;    flee  lest  he  find  thee  here  "? 


MEMORIAL   TRIBUTE.  263 

And  what  if  then,  while  the  still  morning  brightened, 

And  freshened  in  the  elm  the  Summer's  breath, 
Should  gravely  smile  on  me  the  gentle  angel, 

And  take  my  hand  and  say,  "  My  name  is  Death  "  ? 


ADDRESS   OF   JAMES    M.    BUCKLEY,   D.D. 

Dr.  Buckley  delivered  the  following  eulogy  upon  his  friend, 
whom  he  had  known  long  and  intimately: 

We  are  not  in  the  presence  of  death.  Death  is  the  exhala- 
tion of  vitality,  its  duration  but  the  fragment  of  a  second.  We 
are  in  the  presence  of  the  dead.  Whether  Aristotle  had  ever 
seen  the  book  of  Job  no  human  being  knows.  But  there  is  a 
strange  suggestive  coincidence.  Job  speaks  of  death  as  the 
King  of  Terrors  ;  Aristotle  as  the  terrible  of  terribles.  Poets, 
and  sometimes  supposed  philosophers,  affirm  that  it  is  as  natural 
to  die  as  to  be  born.  Why  then  should  death  be  regarded  with 
abhorrence?  Because  the  life  which  is  known  is  cut  off,  and  to 
be  or  not  to  be  becomes  the  soliloquy  of  every  one  who  feels  his 
life  tide  ebbing  away. 

"  If  a  man  die,  shall  he  live  again?"  Said  a  British  officer 
dying  at  home  in  a  time  of  peace,  to  his  spiritual  adviser,  "  I  am 
not  afraid  to  die  ;  I  have  faced  it  thousands  of  times,  but  I  am 
afraid  to  be  dead."     "  If  a  man  die,  shall  he  live  again '?" 

One  question  more  than  others  all 

Of  thoughtful  minds  demands  reply, 
It  is  as  breathed  from  star  and  pall, 

What  fate  awaits  us  when  we  die  ? 

Atheistic  materialism  answers  the  question  with  a  dark,  dole- 
ful, hollow,  damning  "  Never."  Refined  Oriental  materialism 
responds,  "  Man  shall  live,  but  only  as  his  atoms  are  swallowed 
up  in  the  universe."  Still  more  refined,  it  declares  that  he  lives, 
but  his  spirit  is  absorbed  in  the  Infinite,  and  his  personality  and 
consciousness  forever  lost.  The  new  doubters,  with  a  euphoni- 
ous name,  the  Agnostics,  assert  that  none  can  tell.  They  con- 
fess that  not  even  a  mocking  echo  responds  to  their  questions, 
"What,  Where"? 

What  is  the  response  of  Christianity?  "  If  a  man  die,  shall 
he  live  again  "  ?     "lam   the  resurrection  and  the  life;  he  that 


264  MEMORIAL   TRIBUTE. 

believeth  on  me  shall  never  die.  Yea,  though  he  die,  yet  shall 
he  live  again."  Jesus  spake  not  merely  as  a  seer.  He  spoke  in 
the  language  of  philosophy.  He  declared  that  man  as  he  ap- 
pears to  the  eye  is  a  moving  tabernacle  in  which  the  real  man 
dwells.  Upon  this  He  bases  the  warning  that  man  should  not 
fear  man  who  may  kill  the  body  but  after  that  has  nothing  that 
he  can  do.  While  we  give  honor  to  whom  honor  is  due,  and  fear 
to  whom  fear  is  due,  Christianity  assures  us  in  the  name  of  Christ 
that  we  should  fear  God  supremely,  who  after  He  hath  killed  the 
body  hath  power  to  destroy  the  soul.  How  sublimely  Jesus  an- 
swers this  question.  "  Let  not  your  heart  be  troubled;  ye  believe 
in  God,  believe  also  in  me.  In  my  Father's  house  are  many 
mansions  ;  if  it  were  not  so  I  would  have  told  you  ;  I  go  to  pre- 
pare a  place  for  you  ;  and  if  I  go  and  prepare  a  place  for  you,  I 
will  come  again  and  receive  you  unto  myself,  that  where  I  am, 
there  ye  may  be  also."  How  beautifully  Paul  speaks  of  the  out- 
ward man  perishing  and  the  inward  being  renewed  day  by  day. 
With  what  marvellous  attractiveness  does  Peter  assure  us  that 
God  has  shown  him  that  he  must  shortly  put  off  this  tabernacle. 
How  impossible  it  is  for  a  Christian,  even  in  age  and  feebleness 
extreme,  to  confound  the  tenant  with  the  house,  and  St.  John,  in 
a  moment  of  full  recognition  of  the  awful  mystery  of  life,  death 
and  futurity,  exclaims,  "  Beloved,  now  are  we  the  sons  of  God, 
and  it  doth  not  yet  appear  what  we  shall  be,  but  this  we  know, 
that  when  he  shall  appear  we  shall  be  like  him,  for  we  shall  see 
him  as  he  is." 

The  references  to  the  future  state  in  the  New  Testament  are 
more  numerous  than  some  suppose,  and  in  a  manner  which 
the  superficial  do  not  perceive.  "  If  it  were  not  so,"  said  Jesus, 
''  I  would  have  told  you."  I  would  have  had  no  mission  to  you. 
For  your  method  of  life  might  have  been  comprehended  in  "  Let 
us  eat  and  drink,  for  to-morrow  we  die."  Christianity  declares 
that  personality  exists.  Not  one  reference  can  be  found  in  the 
Bible  to  the  future  condition  of  the  disciples  of  Christ  without 
the  implication  they  are  the  same  persons;  that  they  know  them- 
selves to  be  the  same  ;  everywhere  the  references  to  the  future 
assume  the  continuity  of  consciousness.  They  imply  not  only 
the  existence  of  memory,  without  which  consciousness  would  be 


MEMORIAL    TRIBUTE.  2C5 

impossible,  but  the  existence  of  the  power  of  voluntary  recollec- 
tion, without  which  human  beings  could  not  comprehend  those 
things  which  God  has  explicitly  promised  to  reveal.  When  the 
saints  stand  upon  the  sea  of  glass  and  sing-  the  song  of  M 
and  the  Lamb,  "  who  would  not  fear  thee,  O  God,  and  worship 
before  thee?"  It  is  because  His  judgments  are  made  manifest 
not  simply  in  condemning,  but  all  I  lis  ways  to  men  are  made 
manifest.  His  eternal  justice  is  vindicated.  Therefore  both  dis, 
pensations  and  great  multitude  from  every  kindred,  tribe  and 
tongue  sing  unto  Him  the  song  of  Moses  and  the  Lamb. 

The  New  Testament  plainly  teaches  that  there  is  no  place  for 
the  mother's  sad  lament:  "  My  pretty  boy  will  be  as  dim  and 
meagre  as  an  ague  fit,  and  I  shall  not  know  him  there/'  Xo 
place  for  that.  Not  only  is  cognition  of  those  whom  the  re- 
deemed, the  spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect,  are  to  see  plainly 
impressed  and  always  implied,  but  recognition.  Behold  the  beau- 
tiful description  of  the  future  assembling  of  the  saints  of  God,  of 
those  that  shall  be  living  with  Christ.  "  I  would  not  have  you 
be  ignorant  concerning  them  that  are  fallen  asleep  in  Christ." 
There  is  a  dramatic  unfolding  of  the  order  in  which  reunion  takes 
place.  The  Apostle,  speaking  as  though  he  and  some  with  him 
should  live  until  the  grand  consummation,  for  time  is  naught  in 
the  perspective,  of  faith,  exclaims:  "  They  that  are  fallen  asleep 
shall  not  prevent  us.  The  dead  in  Christ  shall  rise  first,  and  we 
shall  be  changed,  and  we  shall  be  caught  up  to  meet  the  Lord, 
and  so  shall  we  be  forever  with  the  Lord."  But  if  "  we  and  the}-,'' 
all  inclusive  terms,  are  so  caught  up  to  meet  the  Lord,  then 
shall  we  be  with  them.  We  are  to  sit  down  with  Abraham,  Isaac 
and  Jacobin  the  kingdom  of  God  which,  whether  a  literal  state- 
ment or  a  figure,  implies  recognition,  the  words  of  Christ  place  it 
beyond  doubt.  "  Father,"  in  the  seventeenth  of  John,  in  the 
high-priestly  prayer,  "  I  will  that  they  also,  whom  thou  hast 
given  me,  be  with  me  where  I  am  ;  that  they  may  behold  my 
glory,  which  thou  hast  given  me  :  for  thou  lovedst  me  before  the 
foundation  of  the  world."  There  are  many  other  passages  which 
relieve  us  from  doubt  upon  this  subject.  Important  always,  espe- 
cially important  now.  Be  not  disturbed  by  the  thought  that  "  flesh 
and  blood  cannot  enter  the  kingdom  of  God."     Every  human 


266  MEMORIAL   TRIBUTE. 

being,  many  time  sin  every  day  of  his  life,  performs  an  act  not  less 
mysterious  than  the  recognition  of  pure  spirits  would  be.  Every 
living  man  recognizes  the  thoughts,  the  faces,  that  he  has  "  loved 
and  lost  awhile  ";  he  recognizes  them  every  day.  He  knows  that 
the  thought  he  has  to-day,  by  consciousness  and  perception,  to  be 
the  thought  he  had  twenty  years  ago,  and  he  declares  that  he 
recollects  it.  That  fact  upon  inexplicable  materialistic  princi- 
ples is  not  less  mysterious  than  would  be  the  recognition  of  a 
spirit  by  a  spirit  in  the  world  unseen. 

In  the  light  of  these  facts.  Christian  facts,  what  is  the  true 
view  of  life  and  death  ?  Is  it  proper  for  the  Christian  to  wish  to 
be  gone?     Should  his  favorite  hymn  be, 

Life  is  but  a  winter's  day, 
A  journey  to  the  tomb  ? 

Or  should  it  be, 

Fly  swift  around,  ye  wheels  of  time, 
And  bring  the  welcome  day  ? 

Should  the  Christian  familiarize  himself  with  the  importance 
of  this  life  to  such  an  extent  as  to  wish  to  say,  as  Theodore  Park- 
er, when  he  was  dying  in  Florence,  did  say  in  a  letter  to  his  ra- 
tionalistic congregation  in  Boston,  "Oh,  there  is  so  much  that 
no  one  else  can  do  but  I  "  ?  Let  Paul  teach  us  not  to  be  perturb 
ed  with  regard  to  living  or  dying.  The  Christian  cannot  live 
a  moment  longer  than  God  will,  and  all  the  powers  of  earth  and 
hell  cannot  cause  him  to  die  an  instant  sooner  than  the  time  which 
God  approves  for  him,  for  all  dependent  upon  him,  for  the  Church, 
and  for  the  full  unfolding  of  the  dispensation.  With  what  blended 
faith,  hope  and  love,  St.  Paul  exclaimed:  "  For  to  me  to  live  is 
Christ,  and  to  die  is  gain.  I  wot  not  what  I  would  choose.  I 
am  in  a  strait  betwixt  two,  having  a  desire  to  depart  and  be 
with  Christ,"  which  shows  that  personality,  consciousness  and 
memory  are  practically  continuous,  for  if  he  were  to  sleep  three 
thousand  or  thirty  thousand  years,  if  he  could  say  for  to  him  to 
live  is  Christ,  how  could  he  contrast  his  present  state  with  the 
sleep  of  unconsciousness,  and  consider  the  latter  preferable? 
Nay.  "  For  me  to  live  is  Christ,  and  to  die  is  gain;  but  if  I 
live  in  the  flesh  this  is  the  fruit  of  my  labor;  yet  I  wot  not  what 
to  choose,  for  it  is  more  needful  for  you  that  I  remain." 


MEMORIAL   TRIBUTE.  267 

This  view  enables  one  to  take  ship  in  the  path  of  duty  up- 
on the  stormiest  sea  that  ever  beat  upon  a  rocky  coast  ;  to  fol- 
low the  requirements  of  his  conscience  whether  it  conduct  him 
to  a  dungeon,  to  a  desert,  or,  what  may  be  more  dangerous,  to  a 
palace  where  all  gifts  are  his  if  he  will  be  silent  when  he  should 
testify. 

The  question  of  the  hour  :  What  was  the  view  of  life  and 
death  held  by  him  who  is  silent  here  for  the  first  time  ?  Did  he 
consider  it  to  be  transcendingly  important  that  he  should  live? 
Did  he  wish  to  die,  or  did  he  hold  the  exact  view  that  Christian- 
ity requires — the  view  enforced  and  illustrated  by  Paul  ?  Last 
Thanksgiving  Day  Dr.  Deems,  with  that  bold  hand  which  his 
friends  recognize  wherever  they  see  it,  wrote  the  name  of  a 
beloved  child,  and  then,  "  From  her  loving  Father."  The  hand- 
writing has  outlived  the  hand,  so  frail  is  human  life.  It  is  a 
strange  book — "  My  Septuagint." 

M  The  name  of  this  book  probably  suggested  itself  to  my 
mind  because  what  it  contains  has  been  written  since  the  seventy- 
second  anniversary  of  my  birthday.  .  .  *  How  does  a  man 
feel  at  three-score  years  and  ten  ? '  I  look  into  my  heart  and 
make  the  following  additional  response  :  I  am  not  conscious  of 
having  any  of  those  several  symptoms  which  have  generally  been 
supposed  to  indicate  old  age,  except  the  one  pointed  out  by  Sol- 
omon, '  They  shall  be  afraid  of  that  which  is  high.'  I  cannot 
climb  as  I  once  could.  Four  flights  of  stairs  tire  me  very  much, 
and  I  am  sensible  of  a  secret  wish  that  all  my  dear  parishioners 
and  friends  might  live  on  the  first  floor.  Otherwise,  as  I  write  to. 
day,  with  the  splendor  of  this  beautiful  morning  streaming  into 
my  study  and  lighting  up  the  life-size  portrait  of  my  dear  wife 
who,  by  the  way,  has  borne  with  my  manners  in  this  wilderness 
nine  years  longer  than  the  Lord  endured  Israel — I  do  not  feel 
any  lessening  of  the  ability  of  my  body  to  give  me  pleasure. 
Yesterday  three  meals  were  eaten  with  as  keen  an  appetite  as 
the  meals  I  took  at  college  even  on  football  days.  I  did  more  in 
the  week  preceding  than  in  any  week  of  my  middle  life,  and  last 
night  for  seven  hours  slept  a  sleep  as  sweet  as  that  of  my  child- 
hood. I  enjoy  beautiful  sights — landscapes,  lovely  women  and 
children,  statuary  and  paintings,  as  much  as  I  ever  did  in  earlier 


268  MEMORIAL   TRIBUTE. 

life.  I  enjoy  boys  ;  I  love  to  see  them  at  play  ;  and,  when  per- 
mitted to  join  them,  I  enter  into  the  plans  and  purposes  of  young 
people  with  zest." 

He  was  serious  then,  but  he  becomes  more  serious. 

"  I  find  myself,  I  do  believe,  this  day  more  willing-  to  live  and 
more  willing  to  die  than  I  ever  did  in  any  day  before.  I  find 
myself  concerned  less  with  the  past  and  less  with  the  future  than 
I  ever  was  before.  I  have  the  abiding  conviction  that  the  best 
of  all  things  is  for  me  to  live  this  day  without  stop,  without 
haste,  with  all  my  power  of  doing  and  of  enjoying  the  things 
which  God  has  given  me.  I  have  no  intention  ever  to  retire. 
Often,  very,  very  weary,  I  think  that  if  a  syndicate  were  to  offer 
me  ten  millions  of  dollars,  to  take  care  of  me  the  rest  of  my  life* 
provided  I  would  promise  never  again  to  speak  in  public,  never 
again  to  make  an  engagement,  never  again  to  take  an  appoint- 
ment, and  to  resign  now  all  the  offices  I  hold  in  church,  in 
school  and  in  society,  I  would  refuse  the  ten  millions,  although  I 
may  not  have  ten  months,  or  even  ten  days  to  live.  .  .  . 
I  sit  in  my  study  and  talk  to  my  heart,  and  dictate  these  lines, 
and  feel  that  I  am  approaching  the  experience  of  the  Apostle 
Paul :  '  For  me  to  live  is  Christ,  and  to  die  is  gain.'  .  .  . 
Being  assured  of  the  immortality  of  my  spirit  because  of  my 
spiritual  alliance  with  Him,  I  have  ceased  to  pray  to  be  deliv- 
ered from  sudden  death,  which  may  be  a  blessing." 

Five  days  after  having  placed  the  book  in  the  hand  of  his 
daughter  his  own  suddenly  refused  to  write.  It  was  the  begin- 
ning of  the  end.  He  then  understood  the  true  Christian  theory 
of  life,  earnestly  willing  to  live,  earnestly  willing  to  die,  trust- 
fully leaving  it  to  Him  in  whose  hands,  in  the  high  and  holy 
sense,  are  the  issues  of  life  and  death. 

Is  a  funeral  eulogium  in  harmony  with  the  spirit  of  Chris- 
tianity ?  If  it  is  not,  at  this  moment  silence  becomes  us.  Not 
only  is  it  in  harmony  with  the  spirit  of  Christianity,  but  that 
spirit  will  pardon  forgetfulness  of  the  infirmities  of  those  whom 
we  know  to  have  been  true  to  it.  Did  not  the  friends  of  Dorcas 
assemble  and  speak  of  the  wondrous  work  she  had  done  ?  Did 
not  St.  Paul  eulogize  his  friends  who  had  passed  away  ?  Are 
there  not  many  passages  in  the  New  Testament  which  are  un- 


MEMORIAL  TRIBUTE.  269 

qualified  eulogiums  of  the  departed  ?     But  excess  or  indiscrimi- 
nate praise — to  predicate  of  a  person  qualities  he  never  p< 
and  declare  him  a  model  in  realms  of  thought  and   action  which 
he  never  penetrated — this  is    to  degrade   the    memory   of  the 

deceased  and  to  obscure  that  which  the   Holy   Word   character. 
izes  thus  :     "  The  memory  of  the  just  is  blessed." 

Dr.  Deems  was  the  son  and  the  grandson  of  a  minister  of  the 
Gospel.  The  influence  of  a  profession  where  health  and  \ 
are  undisturbed  by  excess  is  often  seen  in  descendants  to  the 
third  and  even  the  tenth  generation.  He  was  born  with  a  sus- 
ceptibility for  that  kind  of  excitement  without  which  oratory  is 
impossible.  Nature  qualified  him  for  peculiar  success  in  any 
department  in  which  effectiveness  depends  upon  quick  response 
to  the  changing  moods  of  an  audience  and  upon  the  adaptive 
facility  which  enables  one,  whatever  the  grade  of  intellect  to  which 
he  speaks,  to  rise  or  to  sink  not  in  moral  tone  but  in  exquisite  sen- 
sitiveness to  the  lights  and  shades  of  thought  and  expression  in 
simplicity  or  complexity  according  to  the  reflex  influence  which 
every  word  elicits  from  the  assembly  which  he  addresses.  With- 
out the  call  to  the  ministry,  he,  whose  virtues  we  endeavor  to 
portray  this  day.  might  have  made  a  lawyer  of  extraordinary  suc- 
cess, or  a  popular  orator  in  the  political  world.  He  could  lift  the 
hand  from  the  head  of  the  sorrowing  boy  who  wept  because  he- 
should  see  his  mother's  face  no  more  and  place  it  warm  and  sympa- 
thetic in  the  hand  of  the  bride  on  her  wedding  day.  And  quickly  as 
he  could  turn  from  one  to  the  other  the  appropriate  word  would 
flow  to  the  lip,  the  tear  to  the  eye.  Those  who  knew  not  the 
man  would  say  :  "  This  is  superficial  ;  such  fluctuations  of  feel, 
ing  are  impossible."  But  he  lived  in  the  atmosphere  of  sym- 
pathy. He  loved  every  human  being  ;  therefore  such  transitions 
would  ever  move  as  rapidly  as  his  thought,  feeling  and  sense 
couid  correspond  to  the  necessity.  He  was  a  scientist — not  as  an 
expert,  but  as  a  lover  and  student.  He  was  once  professor  of 
natural  science  in  an  important  college  and  succeeded  admirably 
therein.  But  at  the  end  of  one  year  he  said:  "There  is  not 
sufficient  play  for  my  emotions  here.  Oftentimes  I  wish  to  trace 
the  wonders  of  God  in  the  natural  world  and  declare  that  there 
only  a  part  of  the  Deity  is  known,  and  point  to  Christ  in  whom 


27O  MEMORIAL   TRIBUTE, 

the  whole  Deity  is  known."    "  But,"  he  said  :    u  I  am  not  em- 
ployed for  that,"  and  so  he  resumed  the  ministry. 

He  was  a  journalist,  but  his  efforts  were  all  in  the  realm  of 
morality  and  patriotism  and  good  things.  He  would  have  been 
out  of  place  upon  some  papers  and  magazines  ;  would  have  em- 
barrassed greatly  the  management  and  would  have  needed  con- 
stant supervision.  Everything  that  he  did  in  the  department  of 
education  was  to  promote  Christian  education.  He  appreciated 
highly  the  State.  He  regarded  it  as  of  great  importance  with 
respect  to  the  higher  education.  He  had  no  sympathy  with  one 
of  his  intimate  friends  who  would  restrict  the  education  provided 
by  the  State  to  the  elements,  but  placing  upon  individuals  the 
necessity  of  gaining  the  higher  education.  But  he  believed  that 
denominational  education  was  essential  to  supplement  the  State, 
because  it  would  be  impossible  to  have  a  religious  institution 
governed  exclusively  by  the  State,  and  it  would  be  impossible  to 
have  a  thoroughly  effective  Christian  institution  without  a  de- 
nominational centre.  Therefore  he  used  his  influence  mightily 
to  induce  his  friends  to  contribute  largely  to  the  establishment 
of  great  religious  universities. 

As  a  lecturer,  he  was  unquestionably  unique.  Almost  any 
good  speaker  can  preach,  especially  if  called  unto  that  vocation. 
But  to  be  able  to  preach  and  to  lecture  !  He  could  preach  as 
well  as  he  could  lecture,  and  to  lecture  until  the  whole  assembly 
burst  into  peals  of  laughter  or  thunders  of  applause,  and  yet  never 
utter  a  word  which  would  in  any  degree  militate  from  his  influ- 
ence or  detract  from  it  if  he  were  to  rise  and  begin  a  religious 
service  before  the  same  audience — to  do  that  is  an  astonishing 
power,  and  that  he  possessed.  When  at  his  best  on  the  lecture 
platform,  without  one  word  on  the  subject  of  religion,  he  moved 
men  in  that  direction.  When  from  any  cause  he  was  less  effec- 
tive in  the  pulpit  than  usual  there  was  still  a  deep  undertone  of 
power  which  caused  men  to  forget  every  departure  from  any  par- 
ticular canon  of  pulpit  rhetoric  or  pulpit  elocution. 

Graduated  from  an  important  institution  of  learning, 
and  afterwards  a  professor,  he*  rose  triumphant  above  that 
formal  adherence  to  the  peculiarities,  or  manners,  of  pro- 
fessors which   has  ruined   so  many  persons  of   brilliant  talent. 


MEMORIAL    TRIBUTE.  2  J  I 

The  forthgoing  of  his  personality  was  less  obstructed  than  that 
of  any  public  man  probably  in  this  metropolis.  It  was  a  peculiar 
charm.  You  felt  it  in  the  car,  in  the  counting-room,  as  really 
as  in  the  church.  He  was  magnetic,  with  the  magnetism  of  an 
honest  man's  personality  coming  out  the  ends  of  his  fingers, 
giving  the  peculiar  vibration  to  his  voice,  sparkling  in  his  eye. 
lie  may  speak  or  be  silent,  but  where  he  is  it  comes  forth  and  is 
felt.  Why  consume  time  taken  from  many  cares  to  say  that 
such  a  man  was  a  philanthropist.  Without  that  all  would  have 
fallen  away  and  he  would  have  been  simply  one  of  those  cheerful 
men  who  go  to  and  fro.  His  presence  would  have  delighted 
every  one,  but  it  would  not  have  affected  any  one  except  as  the 
song  of  one  that  singeth  well,  or  as  the  mere  sound  of  a  lute 
across  the  water  in  a  quiet  evening. 

Fraternity  is  one  of  the  branches  of  philanthropy.  There  can 
be  no  fraternity  without  a  philanthropic  heart.  Men  without 
that  may  observe  the  etiquette  of  fraternity,  but  the  soul  is  not 
there. 

He  was  a  reformer  who  never  lost  either  his  head  or  his  heart. 
Some  lose  their  heads.  They  will  die  for  a  pin  as  quick  as  for  a 
post,  and  all  their  days  fritter  away  their  efforts  in  attempting 
the  unattainable  and  in  denouncing  all  who  do  not  attempt  it 
with  them.  It  was  not  so  with  him.  Others  lose  their  hearts, 
and  they  look  upon  one  thing  until  it  assumes  proportions  of  un- 
real magnitude  and  declare  that  their  reform  is  more  important 
even  than  the  Church  of  God.  Not  so  with  him.  He  loved  in- 
stitutions of  different  kinds.  He  had  a  sympathy  with  orders, 
but  one  of  his  most  splendid  passages  that  ever  fell  from  his  lips 
was  this  :  "  No  society,  moral  or  philanthropic,  purely  of  human 
origin,  is  to  be  compared  with  or  substituted  for  the  Church  of 
Jesus  Christ.  Nay,"  said  he,  waxing  eloquent,  "the  best  of 
them  are  at  the  nadir,  while  the  Church  of  the  living  God 
founded  by  Him  and  built  by  Jesus  Christ  is  at  the  zenith,  and 
ever  it  will  remain."  Yet  this  day  a  demonstration  will  be  seen 
that  he,  with  those  noble  views  of  the  relation  of  purely  human 
efforts  to  the  Church  of  Christ,  was  full  of  sympathy  with  the 
former  while  giving  reverence  and  supreme  devotion  only  to  the 
latter. 


272  MEMORIAL   TRIBUTE. 

A  peculiar  question  relating  to  the  Civil  War  should  not  be 
passed  unnoticed.  He  was  an  ardent  union  man.  His  heart 
'  nearly  broke  when  his  State  decided  to  secede,  but  his  creed 
with  respect  to  his  relations  to  the  country  believed  as  consci- 
entiously as  it  is  possible  for  a  man  to  believe  anything  consisting 
of  three  requirements  in  this  order  :  His  first  duty  is  to  his  family; 
his  second  duty  is  to  his  State;  his  third  duty  to  the  Federal 
Government.  What  man  who  observes  that  nearly  every  decision 
of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  has  a  powerful  dis- 
senting minority,  so  that  we  expect  to  see  as  great  men  if  not 
greater  men  than  the  propounder  of  the  opinion  declaring  his 
mistake  to  be  serious,  contrary  to  history  and  in  its  consequences 
awful,  who  will  say  that  Dr.  Deems,  after  his  training,  education 
and  environment,  could  not  conscientiously  believe  that  it  was 
his  duty  to  go  with  his  State  ?  But  how  went  he  with  his  State  ? 
To  promote  cruelty,  perfidy,  treachery?  By  no  means.  He 
gave  his  oldest  son,  and  the  boy  was  killed  at  Gettysburgh  in 
1863.  Had  our  friend  been  destitute  of  that  spirit. of  philan- 
thropy which  overleaped  all  bounds,  he,  like  some  others,  would 
never  have  communed  with  those  who  directly  or  indirectly 
robbed  him  of  his  son,  his  beloved  son,  his  first  born.  But  no. 
He  could  recognize  in  us  what  he  claimed  for  himself,  and  thus 
coming  in  the  spirit  of  fraternity,  the  spirit  of  a  reunited  country 
to  our  city,  he  began  the  career,  which  to  attempt  its  descrip- 
tion would  be  to  insult  the  intelligence  and  the  knowledge  of 
those  who  are  here  to-day. 

He  united  the  abstract  and  the  concrete  in  a  wonderful  man- 
ner. Many  philosophers  are  useless  in  private  or  public  life. 
They  are  mere  phantoms  except  in  their  libraries.  Others  have 
no  philosophy  and  waste  their  days  in  detail.  He  was  a  philoso- 
pher in  the  breadth  of  his  thought  ;  but  he  promoted  and  he 
proposed  practical  things.  He  was  the  founder  of  the  American 
Institute  of  Christian  Philosophy  and  the  editor  of  its  organ, 
Christian  Thought,  until  his  death — though  for  some  time 
obliged  to  avail  himself  of  the  aid  of  a  most  valuable  coadjutor,  the 
Rev  Mr.  Devins,  who,  during  all  his  sickness,  has  conferred  with 
him  and  brought  for  h  the  work  so  that  those  who  read  it  find  in 
each  succeeding  number  something  worthy  of  careful  attention. 


MEMORIAL    TRIBUTE.  273 

He  was  without  doubt  a  complacent  man.  There  are  those 
who  misunderstand  the  relation  of  complacency  to  piety.  They 
think  that  it  is  necessary  for  a  person  to  declare  himself  a  worm 
of  the  dust  in  order  to  have  a  hope  in  Heaven.  The  artist  may 
receive  the  congratulations  of  his  friends,  nay  more,  he  may  ex- 
hibit his  work.  The  lawyer  may  be  told  ot  his  extraordinaiy 
addresses  at  the  bar,  and  it  is  perfectly  proper.  The  merchant 
may  be  praised  by  a  great  assembly  who  will  look  upon  him  as  a 
kind  of  demigod  and  none  condemn  either  him  or  them.  But  if 
a  Christian,  if  a  minister  dare  to  show  any  complacency,  many 
will  say  that  he  is  a  man  of  "  like  passions  "  with  the  world.  And 
so  the  Apostles  declared  they  were  when  men  undertook  to  wor- 
ship them.  David  was  one  of  the  most  complacent  men  that 
ever  lived.  They  would  be  unworthy  a  place  in  the  canon  if  they 
expressed  the  same  complete  self-consciousness  of  his  spirit. 

This  book  begins  with  a  dedication  to  seventy  men  departed 
this  life.  (His  book.)  Were  I  to  read  these  names  tears  would 
come  to  many  an  eye,  for  the  sons  and  the  grandsons  are  here. 
At  the  thought  of  a  similar  day  in  their  experience  to  that  expe- 
rienced to  this  day  by  these  bereaved  children,  their  attention 
would  be  distracted  from  the  occasion  of  the  hour.  But  it  im- 
plies a  species  of  complacency  for  a  man  to  print  seventy  names 
of  honored  men,  among  his  friends;  yet  he  earned  their  friend- 
ship by  good  deeds,  kind  words.  It  was  right  for  him  to  be  com- 
placent. But  in  the  depth  of  his  soul  he  was  most  humble. 
Hear  this  prayer  of  his,  side  by  side  with  one  of  his  most  com- 
placent utterances  : 

O  nail  it  to  Thy  cross, 

My  wretched  carnal  pride 
Which  glories  in  its  rags  and  dross 

And  knows  no  wealth  beside  : 
There  let  it  surely  die  ; 

But  let  my  spirit  be 
Lifted,  to  sit  with  Thee  on  high 

And  sweet  humility. 

Such  complacency  is  not  degrading  but  elevating.  It  is  the 
complacency  of  Paul,  who  said  when  he  came  to  die:  "  I  am  now 
ready  to  be  offered,"  contrasted  with  the  chief  of  sinners  that  he 
called  himself  all  his  life,  "  and   the  time   of  my  departure  is  at 


274  MEMORIAL   TRIBUTE. 

hand.  There  remains  for  me  a  crown  of  righteousness  which 
the  Lord,  the  righteous  judge,  shall  give  me  at  that  day."  Not 
a  crown  of  humility  but  a  crown  of  justice  in  the  economy  of 
grace.  So  that  the  cry  is  "  Thanks  be  to  God  for  his  unspeak- 
able gift." 

A  long  and  terrible  fight  was  that  in  the  sick  room.  A  man 
who  was  never  sick,  who  divided  his  life  into  decades  after  he 
was  sixty,  and  gave  ten  years  to  the  need  of  the  American  in- 
stitutes, and  proposed  to  give  ten  years  more  to  a  certain  sub- 
ject upon  which  he  conversed  with  his  friends,  and  then,  fancy- 
ing that  he  might  live  longer,  said:  "  Should  I  live  still  longer,  I 
hope  to  start  another  enterprise."  This  man  eleven  long  months 
in  his  sick  room  !  Still  he  was  the  pastor  of  a  church.  How 
did  the  good  man  meet  his  fate? 

There  is  a  tendency  on  the  part  of  friends  to  make  every- 
thing beautiful  in  the  dying  Christian.  Our  power  of  discern- 
ment fails  when  our  friends  are  so  helpless  that  they  cannot 
speak  for  themselves,  and  so  it  would  be  suitable  to  breathe  a 
prayer  to  Almighty  God  that  no  exaggeration  in  the  eulogist 
should  here  check  the  flow  of  respect,  admiration  and  even 
veneration. 

His  industry  never  flagged.  He  had  his  office  desk  brought 
to  his  home  in  order  that  he  might  work  in  his  accustomed  way 
when  he  was  barely  able  to  sit  up.  The  day  before  his  final  at- 
tack he  sat  at  his  desk  arranging  his  papers  and  laying  out  his 
correspondence  for  the  following  day,  and  much,  if  not  most,  of 
his  correspondence  was  helpful,  and  scarce  any  of  it  ever  asked 
for  help  ;  never  for  himself. 

His  appreciative  disposition  shone  out  beautifully,  always 
through  his  manifold  gratitude  for  the  service  of  those  of  least 
kindred  to  him.  No  man  ever  loved  his  grandchildren  more  than 
he.  He  spoke  of  them  as  "  my  little  host  of  grandchildren." 
Truly  he  was  blest  in  them.  His  physician  never  left  his  bed- 
side, so  I  am  informed  by  those  who  would  not  misrepresent, 
without  his  blessing  him,  and  he  would  sometimes,  when  he 
could  not  speak,  kiss  the  hand  of  his  faithful  nurse  for  some  act 
of  thoughtful  attention. 

His  patience  never  failed.     He  uttered  no  word,  made  no  sign 


MEMORIAL   TRIBUTE.  2;$ 

of  complaint,  but  in  hours  of  cxtremcst  affliction,  though  his 
greatest  physical  depression  often  affected  the  flow  of  spirits,  he 
said  over  and  over  again,  "  He  doeth  all  things  well." 

His  interest  in  all  things  touching  the  world  was  keen  to  the 
very  last.  His  first  inquiry  of  young  men  who  came  to  see  him 
was,  "  Tell  me  the  news."  His  patriotism  lost  none  of  its  ardor, 
even  during  his  last  sickness.  When  Congress  was  convened  in 
extra  session,  he  said  the  day  it  met,  "  Our  President  !  What  a 
responsibility  !  I  pray  for  him  to-day."  His  humor  was  never 
diminished  by  either  suffering  or  helplessness.  He  was  unable 
to  speak.  It  was  a  great  day  in  that  house,  when  he  could  re- 
peat a  whole  sentence,  and  once  he  was  so  pleased  that  he  re- 
peated it  again  and  smiled  when  his  family  applauded  him  as 
though  he  was  receiving  the  applause  of  an  audience.  How  pa- 
thetic !  One  day  when  it  was  almost  impossible  for  him  to  ar- 
ticulate, he  made  a  great  effort  and  said:  "Well,  well,  I  am  not 
on  speaking  terms  with  my  friends."  Think  what  being  on  speak, 
ing  terms  with  them  had  meant  for  him  so  many  years.  Every 
Sunday  but  three  during  his  entire  sickness,  he  selected  and  sent 
to  this  congregation  a  scriptural  text  for  their  comfort  and  spirit- 
ual upbuilding.  His  trust  in  God  sustained  him  to  the  utter- 
most. Throughout  his  sickness  his  testimony  was,  "  My  faith 
holds  out,"  and  just  before  consciousness  failed  he  said:  4<  At  even- 
ing time  there  is  light." 

I  almost  tremble  to  say  to  you  that  a  little  while  before  the 
last  attack  he  looked  at  the  clock,  unable  to  speak,  looked  at  his 
son-in-law,  who,  with  his  wife  and  their  children,  ministered  to 
him  through  these  months,  and  significantly  shook  his  head, 
which  was  interpreted  to  mean  that  he  would  do  well  to  stay. 
He  looked  at  her  who  then  responded  to  that  homely,  but  home- 
ful,  word  "wife."  He  gazed  so  wistfully,  and  then  he  looked 
at  his  son-in-law  so  intelligently,  and  at  his  daughter  so  signifi- 
cantly that  they  could  not  but  gather  his  meaning  to  be  "Will 
you  take  care  of  her?"  They  assured  him  that  needed  no  assur- 
ance, and  a  sweet  smile  of  satisfaction  rested  upon  his  face. 
*  *  *■  *•  •*  *  ->:- 

These  friends  need  no  commiserating  words  from  me.  In  the 
deep  sea  of   their  grief  that  they  shall  see  his  face  no  more,  they 


276  MEMORIAL   TRIBUTE. 

could  not  bear  congratulatory  words.  He  renounced  in  dying- 
what  he  would  have  been  so  glad  to  have  done  for  you  first. 
You  could  smile  upon  him,  and  read  to  him  and  do  so  much  for 
him.  How  he  longed  to  be  able  to  do  it  for  you  !  Let,  at  least, 
this  gleam  of  comfort  shine  upon  you  in  your  darkness  while  you 
try  perhaps  in  vain  to  behold  the  light  this  day  of  a  father's  face 
(yet  I  would  fain  hope  that  you  possess  the  spiritual  experience 
and  power  which  will  enable  you  to  count  his  body  among  the 
things  that  are  seen,  but  his  spirit  among  the  things  that  are  not 
seen,  and  thus  triumph  over  the  affliction  of  the  hour);  but  as  a 
faint  gleam  of  light  remember  that  you  had  the  privilege  of  com- 
forting him  in  the  hour  and  the  extremity  of  death. 

Following  the  address  of  Dr.  Buckley  came  the  Masonic  ser- 
vices.    The  burial  was  at  New  Dorp,  S.  I. 


LOVING  TRIBUTES  TO  DR.  DEEMS. 

A  service  at  which  his  memory  was  extolled  by  men 
of  various  branches  of  the  Christian  Church. 

A  service  in  memory  of  Dr.  Deems  was  held  in  the  Church  of 
the  Strangers  on  December  14,  at  which  the  Rev.  Joseph  Merlin 
Hodson  presided.  After  the  hymn,  "  Abide  with  me,"  had  been 
sung,  the  Scriptures  were  read  by  Chancellor  McCracken,  of  the 
University  of  the  City  of  New  York.  Prayer  was  then  offered  by 
Bishop  Fowler,  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  Ad- 
dresses were  delivered  by  the  Rev.  Drs.  Thomas  Armitage,  for- 
merly pastor  of  the  Fifth  Avenue  Baptist  Church,  and  Amory  H. 
Bradford,  of  the  First  Congregation  il  Church  of  Montclair,  N.  J., 
who  had  just  been  elected  to  succeed  Dr.  Deems  as  President  of 
the  American  Institute  of  Christian  Philosophy,  and  editor  of 
CHRISTIAN  THOUGHT;  Ex-Mayor  Abram  S.  Hewitt,  and  Marion 
J.  Verdery,  a  son-in-law  of  Dr.  Deems.  Rabbi  Gottheil  and 
President  Simmons  of  the  Fourth  National  Bank,  who  had  ac- 
cepted invitations  to  speak,  were  unable  to  be  present.  The 
closing  hymn  was  "  For  the  Light  is  at  the  End,"  written  by 
Dr.  Deems. 

REMARKS  BY  THE  REV.  JOSEPH  MERLIN  HODSON. 
Mr.  Hodson  began  the  services  with  the  following  remarks: 
It  seems  a  very  fitting  thing  that  one  who  was  so  broad  of 
spirit  as  Dr.  Deems  should  be  held  in  memory  on  an  occasion  like 
this,  with  ministers  of  various  denominations  and  laymen  upon 
the  platform.  His  spirit  was  very  broad  ;  he  was  catholic  not 
only  in  his  sympathies  but  in  his  faith.  Dr.  Deems  was  a  great 
man,  I  think,  recognized  so  by  all  who  knew  of  him,  and  con- 
spicuously a  good  man.  They  who  are  great  in  statesmanship, 
or  as  generals,  or  in  business,  are  more  conspicuous — necessarily 
so.  The  things  with  which  such  men  have  to  do  bring  them 
before  a  larger  portion  of  the  public.  We  call  men  who  are  good, 
who  are  Christians,  saints;  but  it  seems  to  me  that  it  is  a  very  fit- 
ting thing  that  one  who  was  so  great,  so  truly  great  as  Dr.  Deems 

277 


278  MEMORIAL   TRIBUTE. 

and  so  good  as  he  was,  should  be  remembered  both  for  his 
greatness  and  goodness  when  we  come  together  in  this  way  to 
reflect  upon  his  virtues  and  upon  his  excellent  life.  And  so 
our  service  to-night  shall  be  profitable,  as  we  bring  him  to  mind 
and  think  of  him  in  the  excellency  of  his  life.  There  have  been 
many  letters  received  and  resolutions,  some  of  which  may  be 
read  to-night.  I  shall  ask  Mr.  Race,  the  Secretary  of  the  Ad- 
visory Council  of  this  church,  to  read  those  letters  and  resolu- 
tions. 


ADDRESS  BY  THOMAS  ARMITAGE,  D.D.,  LL.D. 
The  following  is  the  address  of  Dr.  Armitage : 
Brethren  of  the  Church  of  the  Strangers:  One  of  the  fairest 
and  most  spotless  pages  of  my  memory  to-day  is  that  on  which 
is  written  my  association  with  your  beloved  pastor  for  more  than 
twenty  years.  He  came  unto  the  city  under  very  peculiar  cir- 
cumstances, and  at  a  very  trying  period.  Immediately  with 
the  close  of  the  war  I  saw  notices  in  the  weekly  papers  of  the 
preaching  of  a  brother  from  North  Carolina  to  strangers,  in  the 
chapel  of  the  New  York  University.  No  explanation  was  given 
as  to  who  those  strangers  were;  no  hint  particularly  as  to  the 
character  of  the  preacher,  and  at  first  it  struck  my  mind  as  a  sin- 
gularity. I  said  :  "Well,  in  great  communities  like  New  York, 
I  suppose  that  the  strangers  that  have  been  scattered  abroad  from 
all  parts  of  the  earth  need  some  particular  order  of  ministry,  and 
it  is  only  a  repetition  of  the  Jewish  idea  of  synagogues  for  in- 
struction for  strangers,  especially  in  Jerusalem,  where  there  were 
so  many."  And  after  noticing  the  reports  in  the  papers  for  sev- 
eral weeks  as  to  the  attendance  in  his  congregation,  and  the 
character  of  the  sermons  that  he  preached,  I  said:  "Well,  a 
man  preaching  to  strangers  such  truths  as  those  must  be  a  bless- 
ing, and  I  will  find  out  this  beloved  brother,  and  give  him  a 
hand  of  welcome  as  an  old  city  pastor."  So  I  went  to  his  house, 
which  was  then  located  in  Thirty-fourth  Street  between  Broad- 
way and  Seventh  Avenue,  and  found  the  unpretentious,  genial, 
sweet* spirited  man,  whose  absence  from  us  we  feel  deeply  to- 
night. I  saw  at  once  by  a  few  minutes'  conversation  that  he 
was  a  man  of  distinction. 


MEMORIAL   TRIBUTE.  279 

Those  elements  of  character  that  we  prize  in  good  and  great 
men  stood  out  as  prominent  attributes,  and  after  a  little  conver- 
sation with  him  I  said:  "  Is  it  your  purpose  to  take  the  Italians 
and  the  Irish  and  the  Germans  who  have  left  their  homes  and 
come  to  a  foreign  country  to  band  them  into  a  general  Church  ?  " 
11  Oh,  no,  no,"  he  said.     "  Nothing  of  the  sort." 

I  begged  for  an  exposition  of  his  purpose.  He  said:  "Well, 
Doctor,  for  years  we  have  been  slaughtering  each  other.  The 
war  has  been  desolating — immensely  desolating.  You  have  no 
conception  at  all  of  the  condition  of  the  South,  from  whence  I 
came.  The  people  are  reduced  to  absolute  poverty.  There  is 
scarcely  a  home  in  the  Confederacy  where  one  is  not  absent  from 
the  table  and  the  bed,  and  where  the  body  of  a  son  or  a  husband 
has  not  been  taken  away  on  the  field,  and  our  people  have  scat- 
tered in  every  direction.  Thousands  and  tens  of  thousands  of 
people  have  gone  to  the  large  cities  to  seek  bread.  They  have 
not  a  home,  they  have  not  a  crust.  They  have  scarcely  a  rag  to 
their  backs." 

"  Well,"  I  said  to  him,  "  Doctor,  as  a  pastor  in  New  York, 
first  of  all,  I  was  largely  ignorant  of  that  condition  of  things; 
and  in  the  next  place,  I  am  perfectly  sure  that  in  all  the  differ- 
ent denominations  of  Christians  here  those  scattered  brethren 
and  sisters  will  be  welcome.  If  they  are  Roman  Catholics,  they 
will  be  welcome  into  their  places  of  worship.  If  they  belong  to 
the  Episcopal  Church,  they  will  find  the  teachings  of  its  minis- 
try and  its  ritual.  If  they  are  Methodists  or  Baptists  or  Presby- 
terians, or  whatever,  the  doors  of  our  meeting-houses  will  be 
open,  the  arms  of  the  people  will  embrace  them,  and  the  hearts 
of  the  people  will  take  them  in." 

He  said:  "I  have  no  doubt  of  it,  and  I  have  no  doubt  at  all 
that  the  city  sympathizes  with  your  own  views  and  feelings  in 
that  particular."  But  he  said:  "They  are  strangers  ;  they  do  not 
feel  at  home  ;  they  doubt  whether  they  are  welcome.  When  you 
take  into  account  the  great  slaughter  the  two  armies  have  made, 
you  can  scarcely  imagine  that  they  can  feel  exactly  like  brothers 
and  sisters  in  their  own  homes  and  among  their  best  friends 
when  they  come  into  New  York  churches." 

He  talked  in  this  way  for  a  whole  evening.      I  complained  to 


280  MEMORIAL   TRIBUTE. 

him,  as  pastors  commonly  do,  that  strangers  who  come  to  New 
York  and  find  such  a  totally  different  method  of  life  from  that 
in  the  small  villages  and  cities  and  towns  from  which  they  have 
come,  do  not  always  act  wisely,  and  sometimes,  when  you  ap- 
proach them,  they  rebuff  you,  and  when  you  would  show  kind- 
ness to  them  they  resent  your  approaches.  And  we  talked  all 
that  over,  but  he  said,  "  No,  they  are  from  every  State  in  the 
South,  poor,  homeless,  wretched,  friendless,  at  any  rate  they  feel 
so,  and  I  have  left  my  home  in  North  Carolina  to  come  and 
gather  them  together."  I  said,  "  Into  a  church  ?  "  "Yes;  they 
must  have  the  privileges  of  a  Gospel  Church.  We  must  manage 
in  some  way  so  that  Baptist  and  Congregationalist,  and  Episco- 
palians and  Methodists,  and  whatever  else  can  come  together  on 
a  platform  of  common  faith  and  for  the  time  being  bury  their 
differences,  their  denominational  differences,  until  they  get  a 
standing  in  the  New  York  Zion  and  begin  to  work  in  the  New 
York  population,"  and  he  expounded  his  plans. 

Every  word  that  he  said  was  characterized  by  his  mighty 
mind.  I  saw  that  I  was  conversing  with  a  first-class  man,  not  a 
crank,  not  a  man  with  crochets,  not  a  man  with  peculiar  notions, 
but  whose  great  head  was  suggesting  immense  thoughts,  and 
whose  great  heart  was  imposing  immense  impulses,  and  whose 
burning  enthusiasm  for  Christ  and  His  suffering  people  led  him 
to  come  and  lay  himself  upon  the  altar,  an  absolute  sacrifice.  I 
fell  in  love  with  your  pastor,  and  I  have  loved  him  as  a  brother 
ever  since  ;  watched  his  work;  watched  his  spirit;  met  with  him 
again  and  again  in  public  assemblies  in  the  advocacy  of  this  and 
that  particular  cause  that  lay  near  our  hearts,  and  as  I  look  into 
the  cells  of  memory  to-day  and  bring  out  that  page  from  the 
pigeon  hole  of  recollection,  I  look  at  it  from  top  to  bottom,  from 
margin  to  margin,  and  say  in  my  inner  heart,  "  He  was  like  his 
Master."  There  was  neither  stain  nor  blot,  nor  wrinkle,  nor  im- 
press of  evil  on  his  whole  character  during  the  more  than  twenty 
years  of  intimacy  with  him.  And  I  feel  to-day  in  the  loss  of  Dr. 
Deems  that  I  have  suffered  as  a  brother.  I  wanted  to  be  here 
at  his  funeral,  but  could  not  possibly  get  here,  but  my  heart  hung 
round  this  place,  wondered  how  his  broken  congregation  felt, 
moved  toward   the   congregation  with  impulses  kindred  to  his 


MEMORIAL   TRIBUTE.  28  I 

own.  I  feel  to-night  as  if  I  had  lost  almost  a  member  of  my 
own  family.  I  could  not  give  you  an  analysis  of  his  character 
without  the  use  of  too  much  time  and  too  many  words,  but  I 
may  say  this,  that  he  was  what  we  blunt  people  in  New  York 
call  "  an  all  around  man."  Level-headed,  true-hearted,  full  of 
love  to  God  and  full  of  love  to  man.  He  had  a  broader  head  and 
a  bigger  heart  than  one  man  in  a  million. 

I  have  been  struck  sometimes  with  a  touch  of  genius  about 
him.  I  do  not  know  what  other  word  to  use.  It  is  a  peculiar 
word,  but  he  had  that  wonderful  ability  that  some  men  possess 
of  bringing  the  brightest  sunbeams  out  of  the  greenest  cucum- 
bers. I  never  saw  a  man  who  could  turn  circumstances  to  such 
quick  and  profitable  account  as  he  did,  and  in  so  pleasant  and 
effective  a  manner.  I  was  talking  with  him  one  day  about  the 
pulpit  and  I  said,  "  Yes,  I  had  a  pretty  good  time  yesterday  in 
preaching,  but  they  brought  up  such  a  handful  of  notices  that  it 
disconcerted  me.  It  took  a  lot  of  time  and  I  don't  know  but  it 
touched  a  little  of  the  old  Adam  of  temper."  "  Oh,"  said  he, 
"bad  temper  about  pulpit  notices;  why,  bless  you,  it's  a  means 
of  grace  to  me.  I  always  find  something  in  a  notice  that  stirs 
my  soul  in  some  direction;  and  if  I  have  time  to  follow  it,  it  will 
lead  me,  occasionally,  through  fire  and  through  water,  but  into 
a  wealthy  place."  "  And,"  I  said  to  him,  "  Deems,  I  am  not  fond 
of  cucumbers,  but  you  seem  to  be  very  fond  of  them.  I  will  send 
you  all  the  notices  that  I  can  get." 

And  now  I  want  to  say  this  and  close:  That  you  strangers  in 
the  City  of  New  York,  who  sat  so  long  under  his  ministry  have 
had  a  wonderful  education.  I  do  not  know  any  minister  in  the 
city  whose  ministry  covered  as  beautiful  grounds  and  combined 
more  wonderful  elements  than  his.  Four  years  ago  I  was  spend- 
ing a  few  months  in  Europe,  and  during  the  time  went  into  the 
north  of  England  and  spent  a  few  weeks  in  a  minister's  house 
there,  having  preached  for  him  once  or  twice.  His  wife  was  a  re- 
fined, educated,  elegant  lady  and  a  devout  Christian,  a  very  de- 
vout Christian.  She  went  to  the  library  and  brought  out  a  vol- 
ume of  unbound  discourses.  They  seemed  to  be  weekly  publica. 
tions,  and  I  took  them  up  and  said,  "  Why,  here  are  Dr.  Deems's 
sermons."     "  Yes,"  she  said.    "  Do  you  know  Dr.  Deems  ?  "  "  Oh, 


282  MEMORIAL   TRIBUTE. 

yes,"  I  said,  "  I  know  him  very  intimately  and  love  him  very 
warmly."  "Well,"  she  said,  "I  don't  know  him,  but  in  some 
way  or  other  these  sermons  have  fallen  into  my  hands.  I  read 
Beecher's  sermons  (which  were  then  rather  commonly  pub- 
lished). 

"  I  read  Spurgeon?s  sermons.  Now  and  then  I  see  other  dis- 
courses, say  from  Dr.  Talmage,"  and  one  or  two  others  she  men- 
tioned, "  but  none  of  them  reaches  my  heart  and  informs  my  judg- 
ment so  thoroughly  as  those  of  Dr.  Deems.  I  would  give  the 
world  to  be  acquainted  with  him  and  to  sit  under  his  ministry." 
"  And,"  I  said,  "  when  I  get  home  I  will  see  the  doctorand  tell  him 
what  a  marvellous  treasure  he  is,  and  how  his  sermons  are  blessed 
here  in  Yorkshire." 

I  came  to  his  room  and  found  a  beautiful  volume  on  his  table — 
his  "  Life  of  Jesus."  "  And  now,"  I  said,  "  I  will  get  a  feast  for 
that  woman  if  I  possibly  can.  She  is  there  in  Yorkshire,  and 
their  preaching  could  be  improved,  some  of  it,  and  if  I  can  get 
the  doctor  to  send  that  '  Life  of  Jesus'  to  that  poor  woman,  it 
will  do  her  an  immense  amount  of  good."  "  Oh,"  said  he,  "  bless 
my  heart,  yes;  what  is  her  name  ?  "  I  gave  her  name.  He  took 
his  pen  in  that  room  and  wrote  her  name,  "  with  the  compliments 
of  the  author."  And  the  woman  has  that  book  now,  and  while 
Dr.  Deems  is  dead,  that  book  in  Yorkshire,  as  well  as  in  New  York 
and  in  a  thousand  other  places,  is  preaching  the  glorious  Gospel 
that  educated  you.  I  think  I  have  said  enough,  and  you  have  so 
many  speakers  to  listen  to  that  I  will  be  glad  if  you  will  relieve 
me  from  further  remarks.  God  bless  you.  Bind  his  ministry  to 
your  hearts.  Hold  together.  You  came  here  out  of  great  tribu- 
lation. Go  there  after  him  to  join  him  from  the  same  sources  of 
fire  and  water  into  the  wealthy  place. 


ADDRESS  BY  AMORY  H.  BRADFORD,  D.D. 

Dr.  Bradford  spoke  as  follows  : 

My  dear  friends,  my  association  and  acquaintance  with  Dr. 
Deems  does  not  run  so  far  back  as  that  of  many  who  will  address 
you  to-night,  and  yet  it  goes  very  much  farther  than  I  supposed  it 
did  until  I  began  to  count  up  the  years — for  time  flies  much  more 


MEMORIAL    TRIBUTE.  2  S3 

swiftly  as  we  grow  older.  I  have  known  him  and  enjoyed  his 
friendship  I  believe  for  about  fifteen  years.  As  Dr.Armitage  has 
been  speaking  with  so  much  grace  and  feeling  I  have  thought 
that  I  should  like  to  be  able  fittingly  to  characterize  Dr.  Deems 
and  his  work.  I  do  not  think  it  any  exaggeration  to  say  that 
one  of  the  noblest  figures  in  the  pulpit  of  New  York,  one  of  the 
most  efficient  workers  in  the  churches  of  New  York,  and  one  of 
the  ablest  and  most  consecrated  Christian  ministers  in  all  the 
American  nation,  passed  to  his  rest  when  our  dearly  beloved  friend 
closed  his  ministry  on  earth.  I  want  to  emphasize  those  words, 
on  earth.  A  young  woman,  the  daughter  of  a  friend,  re- 
cently entered  Wellesley  College.  A  little  while  before  he  died 
Bishop  Brooks  visited  Wellesley  and  spoke  to  the  students  of 
that  great  institution  of  learning.  Within  a  week  or  two  he  had 
ceased  his  earthly  career,  and  this  girl  wrote  to  her  friends:  "  I 
never  thought  very  much  about  the  immortality  of  the  soul  until 
I  heard  that  Bishop  Brooks  had  passed  away,  and  now  I  cannot 
believe  in  death."  And  I  am  sure  that  acquaintance  with  a  man 
like  Dr.  Deems  helps  to  make  it  impossible  for  us  to  believe  in 
death.  Our  Lord  never  recognized  death.  His  disciples  spoke 
about  it,  but  when  they  came  to  Him  with  the  word  He  always 
turned  them  away  with  the  sweet  and  beautiful  thought  of  sleep. 
And  I  cannot  even  think  of  our  brother  as  sleeping,  only  resting 
for  a  moment  that  he  may  rise  in  new,  more  intense  and  more 
splendid  life  to  do  the  work  which  the  Master  has  committed 
to  him. 

In  the  few  words  which  I  shall  speak  to  you  I  must  refer  to  the 
days  of  our  first  meeting.  This  is  a  family  rather  than  a  formal 
gathering,  and  as  we  meet  in  our  households  about  our  family  cir- 
cles and  speak  of  those  who  have  gone,  so  now  we  will  for  a  few 
moments  speak  of  our  loved  one  who  has  only  gone  into  another 
room  of  our  Father's  house. 

My  association  with  Dr.  Deems  was  largely  in  connection 
with  the  American  Institute  of  Christian  Philosophy,  of  which  he 
was  the  founder,  and  for  which  he  did  more  than  all  others  com- 
bined. I  shall  never  forget  that  beautiful  day  at  Greenwood 
Lake,  when,  after  we  had  been  talking  about  the  project,  he  put 
his  hand  upon  mine  and  said :  "  Bradford,  if  you  will  help  me,  I 


284  MEMORIAL   TRIBUTE. 

believe  we  will  make  this  thing  go."  He  put  his  heart  and  life 
into  that  work.  I  was  able  to  help  him  a  very  little,  but  when  I 
ceased  to  be  active  he  continued  his  labors,  interesting  many 
others  in  his  plans,  and  to  the  day  of  his  death  the  Institute  was 
one  of  the  causes  nearest  and  dearest  to  him.  As  we  speak  of 
those  days  at  Greenwood  Lake,  I  am  reminded  of  what  a  won- 
derfully genial,  bright,  happy  man  he  was,  and  what  a  gift  he 
had  for  turning  everything  that  seemed  to  be  unpropitious  into 
brightness  and  joy.  We  once  went  to  a  camp-meeting  which  was 
held  near  the  Lake.  Dr.  Deems  was  to  preach.  He  took  for  his 
text  one  of  those  passages  from  the  Psalms  which  close  with 
"  Selah,"  and  concluded  his  sermon  with  an  eloquent  perora- 
tion, using  at  the  end  of  each  phrase,  "  Selah — hush!  "  There 
were  many  country  people  present,  some  of  whom  grew  very 
enthusiastic  as  the  eloquence  increased.  At  the  conclusion  of 
one  of  the  most  eloquent  passages,  a  brother  of  the  shouting 
kind  arose  and  cried  at  the  top  of  his  voice:  "Amen  !  "  "  Selah  ! 
hush!"  said  Dr.  Deems.  That  bright  way  of  turning  things 
always  characterized  him.  It  was  deftly  done — just  in  the  line 
of  his  thought.  He  quieted  the  man,  and  in  a  manner  to  please 
rather  than  offend. 

I  must  also  speak  of  him  as  a  Christian  worker.  How  any 
man  was  able  to  do  so  much  work,  and  still  constantly  grow 
young,  is  hard  to  understand.  He  said  to  me  about  ten  years 
ago  :  "  I  have  been  growing  young  every  day  for  the  last  five 
years."  After  another  five  years  had  passed  I  said  :  "  Dr.  Deems, 
do  you  remember  you  told  me  about  five  years  ago  that  you  had 
been  growing  young  for  five  years  ?  "  "  Yes,"  he  said,  "  I  do  re- 
member it,  and  do  you  know  I  have  been  growing  young  every 
day  since?"  I  presume  if  I  could  have  seen  him  the  last  day  of 
his  life  he  would  have  said  exactly  the  same  thing,  realizing,  as  I 
am  sure  he  did,  the  prayer  of  the  great  English  preacher:  "  Lord, 
help  us  all  to  remember  that  getting  near  to  God  is  getting  near 
to  immortal  youth." 

As  a  thinker  Dr.  Deems  exerted  a  much  larger  influence  than 
his  publications  might  seem  to  warrant.  He  was  too  busy  to 
find  much  time  for  speculative  thought.  He  was  the  President 
of  the  Institute  of    Philosophy,  and   yet    he  did  little  philoso- 


MEMORIA  L    TKIB  U  TE. 

phizing.  He  did  that  which  was  infinitely  better  ;  he  stim- 
ulated others  to  splendid  achievement.  In  many  of  our  in- 
stitutions of  learning,  North  and  South,  are  young  men  who 
have  been  inspired  to  think  earnestly  and  thoroughly  concerning 
profound  subjects  not  so  much  by  reading  what  he  wrote  as  by 
remembering  the  words  which  he  spoke  and  the  influence  which 
he  exerted.  While  he  was  eminent  neither  as  a  philosopher  m>r 
as  a  theologian,  he  was  one  of  the  most  vital  thinkers  I  have 
ever  known.  Other  men  put  emphasis  upon  systems  of  thought ; 
he  rather  put  his  emphasis  upon  the  life  which  is  in  Christ.  His 
"system,"  if  he  had  one,  was  the  expression  of  his  spiritual  life- 
He  was  one  of  the  most  progressive  of  men.  If  you  will  read  his 
address  on  "The  Theological  Outlook,"  published  in  a  recent 
number  of  Christian  Thought,  you  will  be  surprised  that  a 
man  of  his  years,  and  one  with  so  much  work  to  do,  should  look 
so  hopefully  toward  the  future.  He  was  not  only  a  progres- 
sive thinker,  but  he  was  also  a  confident  thinker.  He  had  abso- 
lutely no  fear  for  truth.  The  windows  of  his  soul  were  open  on 
all  sides.  He  said  :  "  The  Bible  and  the  ark,  and  anything  that 
has  God  in  it  must  live."  He  welcomed  all  earnest  teachers, 
and  had  a  kind  word  for  every  science  and  every  truth  which 
would  bring  in  larger,  nobler  and  better  manhood. 

We  cannot  think  of  Dr.  Deems  without  also  thinking  of  his 
immense  contribution  to  Christian  union.  At  the  last  meeting 
of  the  Congregational  Club,  of  which  Dr.  Deems  was  a  member 
and  one  of  the  most  constant  attendants — the  question  arose  as 
to  whether  any  in  the  room  knew  to  what  denomination  he  be- 
longed. I  had  known  him  intimately  for  fifteen  years,  and  I  did 
not  know.  Not  a  person  present  could  answer,  except  our  guest, 
Dr.  Buckley,  who  confessed  that  he  should  not  have  been  informed 
had  he  not  within  a  few  hours  been  invited  by  the  family  to  preach 
the  funeral  sermon  the  next  day.  Since  then  the  wonderful  fact 
has  been  made  known  that  that  man,  almost  peerless  in  the  pul- 
pit of  New  York  ;  that  man  who  was  welcomed  North  and  South, 
East  and  West  ;  who  was  the  friend  of  the  Christian  Endeavor 
Societies;  the  friend  of  the  most  conservative  and  the  most  lib- 
eral thinkers  ;  the  friend  of  every  one  who  knew  him,  not  because 
he  made  compromises,  but  because  of  the  hospitality  of  his  spirit, 


286  MEMORIAL   TRIBUTE, 

was  a  member  of  no  denomination.  Here  in  this  Church  of 
the  Strangers  is  a  baptistry — I  am  almost  standing  on  it.  This 
might  have  been  a  Baptist  church,  but  it  was  not.  Here  are  met 
representatives  of  almost  all  denominations,  and  every  one  thinks 
of  Dr.  Deems  as  a  brother.  In  other  words,  he  proved  to  us  how 
to  realize  Christian  union.  It  is  simply  by  being  Christians. 
That  is  one  of  the  most  splendid  lessons  which  any  man  has 
taught  in  our  time. 

I   cannot   allow   this    occasion   to  pass  without  saying   that 

I  remember  with  the  greatest  joy  and  delight,  as  one  of  the 
most  precious  of  my  memories,  that  that  dear  and  sainted  man, 
with  a  smile  upon  his  face,  used  often  to  give  to  me  his  hand, 
and  say,  "  Well,  my  son,  how  are  you  to-day?"  I  cannot  go 
from  this  platform  without  telling  the  members  of  the  Church  of 
the  Strangers,  and  still  more  those  who  were  nearer  to  him  than 
even  this  church  membership  could  possibly  be,  that  a  great  com- 
pany of  mourners  all  over  this  land  and  in  many  lands  gratefully 
cherish  the  memory  of  Dr.  Deems,  saying,  from  their  full  hearts, 

II  He  was  our  helper  and  friend." 

As  I  remember  that  Dr.  Deems  exercised  a  very  strong  influ- 
ence in  bringing  in  an  era  of  good  feeling  between  the  North  and 
South,  it  seems  to  me  that  I  cannot  close  this  address  more  fit- 
tingly than,  with  only  two  or  three  changes,  to  take  the  words 
which  Whittier  out  of  his  heart  wrote  for  his  friend,  Thomas  Starr 
King,  who,  by  the  Golden  Gate,  had  just  entered  into  life,  and 
apply  them  to  our  dear  and  honored  father,  whom  we  have 
loved  so  well,  and  whom  we  pray  God  we  may  all  meet  again  : 

Let  the  strong  organ  with  its  loftiest  swell 
Lift  the  proud  sorrow  of  the  land,  and  tell 
That  the  brave  sower  saw  his  ripened  grain, 
O  North  and  South  !     O  North  and  South  !  twain 
No  more  forever  ! — has  he  liv=;d  in  vain 
Who,  priest  of  union,  made  ye  one,  and  told 
Your  bridal  service  from  his  lips  of  gold  ? 


ADDRESS   OF   ABRAM   S.    HEWITT,   ESQ. 
Mr.  Hewitt  was  called  upon  unexpectedly  to  take  the  place 
of  an  absent  speaker.     The  following  is  his  address : 

I  came  here  to-night  not  to  speak  but  rather  to  testify,  so  far 


MEMORIAL   TRIBUTE.  287 

as  my  presence  could  do  it,  to  the  profound  admiration  which 
was  entertained  in  this  city  by  its  men  of  business,  those  whose 
daily  walk  is  not  in  the  churches,  but  is  in  the  paths  of  industry 
and  finance  and  the  competition  of  trade,  to  the  profound  respect 
which  they  all  entertained  for  Dr.  Deems.  St.  Paul  was  the 
Apostle  to  the  Gentiles,  and  when  he  went  to  Athens  you  all  re- 
member, addressing-  the  earnest  and  curious  crowd  that  he  found 
there,  he  said,  I  see  that  you  have  altars  to  all  the  gods.  And 
among  the  other  gods  I  see  you  have  an  altar  to  the  Unknown 
God.  "  Him  declare  I  unto  you."  I  never  think  of  Dr.  Deems 
without  thinking  of  St.  Paul  and  that  wonderful  address  upon 
Mars  Hill,  and  I  am  profoundly  interested  to-night  by  what  Dr. 
Bradford  has  told  us  about  the  religious  views  of  Dr.  Deems.  I 
had  known  him  for  a  great  many  years  and  I  confess  that  I  never 
asked  the  question,  to  what  denomination  he  belonged.  I  never 
could  conceive  that  he  belonged  to  any  denomination,  and  yet  I 
supposed,  as  a  matter  of  course,  that  he  was  in  affiliation  with 
some  sect.  But  it  never  occurred  to  me  to  look  at  him  or  to 
consider  him  for  one  moment  as  a  man  who  had  any  sectarian 
views  whatever.  When  he  constituted  himself  the  apostle  to  the 
strangers  it  must  have  been  the  result  of  that  inner  conscious- 
ness that  he  was  born  to  bean  apostle  to  all  who  were  in  trouble, 
to  all  who  felt  that  they  needed  religious  instruction  and  inspira- 
tion. And  I  never  quite  understood,  until  three  or  four  years  ago, 
when  the  library  of  the  Mercantile  Association  new  building 
was  opened  and  Dr.  Deems  made  an  address,  how  it  was  that 
Dr.  Deems  had  carved  out  for  himself  the  peculiar  place  which  he 
filled  in  this  community,  until  I  listened  to  what  he  then  told  us. 
He  said  :  "  I  came  to  New  York  without  a  friend,  without  an 
acquaintance.  I  had  no  books.  I  had  no  meney.  I  had 
nothing  ;  and  I  had  to  support  myself.  And  I  came  to  this 
library,  which  was  not  a  public  library,  but  a  subscription 
library,  and  I  said  to  the  librarian,  '  I  am  a  scholar  who  has  oc- 
casion to  consult  books.  I  am  not  able  to  pay  the  subscription 
fee  at  this  library,  but  I  am  engaged  in  literary  work  and  I 
should  like  to  have  the  privilege  of  using  some  of  the  books.'" 
And  he  said  the  librarian  replied  :  "  My  dear  sir,  you  are  welcome 
to  everything  that  there  is  in  this  library.     Come  here  and  make 


288  MEMORIAL   TRIBUTE. 

it  your  study  as  long  as  you  choose."  Now,  ordinarily,  librarians 
do  not  welcome  strangers  in  that  way  to  libraries,  and  it  was,  I 
think,  the  most  remarkable  testimony  to  the  peculiar  character- 
istics of  Dr.  Deems  that  in  his  very  first  interview  with  the  li- 
brarian, who  was  accustomed  to  deal  with  a  crowd  and  accom- 
modate persons  who  came  and  went,  that  his  heart  was  touched 
and  opened  towards  him,  and  made  him  a  friend,  and  put  at  his 
service  all  the  treasures  of  the  magnificent  collection.  Thus  it 
was  with  Dr.  Deems  everywhere.  He  never  made  an  enemy  and 
he  never  lost  a  friend.  He  was  a  veritable  minister  of  Christ  and 
he  belonged  to  that  Church,  I  think  it  is  called — I  shall  have  to 
ask  my  clerical  friends — the  Church  after  the  order  of  Melchize- 
deck,  which  antedates  all  churches.  Evidently  Dr.  Deems  went 
behind  all  sects  and  joined  the  universal  Church  of  God,  which 
had  been  brought  down  to  us,  to  the  poorest  and  humblest  among 
us,  by  the  Saviour  who,  in  His  life,  set  the  example  which  Dr. 
Deems  followed  through  poverty,  through  discouragement 
through  lack  of  friends,  through  the  appreciation  and  the  flattery 
which  finally  surrounded  him,  retaining  to  the  last  that  lovely 
simplicity  of  character  which  made  him  the  typical  Christian  of 
modern  times. 


ADDRESS   OF   MARION  J.   VERDERY,   ESQ. 

The  closing  address  was  delivered  by  Mr.  Verdery,  who  spoke 
both  as  a  friend  and  as  a  son.     He  said  : 

When  invited  by  the  officers  of  the  church  to  take  part  in 
this  sacred  service,  my  heart's  instant  impulse  was  to  accept.  My 
only  perplexity  was  in  determining  whether  I  belonged  more 
properly  down  there  with  his  sorrowing  family,  or  up  here  with 
his  loyal  friends. 

In  all  that  constitutes  helpful  counsel,  unfailing  encourage- 
ment, warm  flowing  sympathy,  patience  with  shortcomings,  and 
paternal  affection,  he  was  my  father.  In  all  that  makes  up  loyalty 
of  fellowship,  union  of  interest,  unvarying  devotion,  and  self-sac- 
rificing assistance,  he  was  my  friend. 

It  is  not  my  province  to  pronounce  any  formal  eulogy  on  him. 
Others  with  that  privilege  vouchsafed  them  have  done  their  love 


MEMORIAL    TRIBUTE.  2 So, 

task  completely.  I  could  not  add  one  note  to  the  inspiring  sym- 
phony of  praise  that  has  been  sung,  but  if  I  can  pay  a  sweet, 
simple,  hearthstone  tribute  to  that  side  of  his  beautiful  nature 
which  was  not  exposed  to  the  world,  I  shall  at  least,  like  his 
masonic  brethren,  have  given  my  sprig  of  evergreen. 

Out  in  the  busy  world  where  he  spent  so  much  of  his  life,  he 
was  the  incarnation  of  activity  and  industry.  Dashing  at  work 
with  an  energy  suggestive  of  military  genius,  he  accomplished 
more  in  a  day  than  many  men  do  in  a  week.  Work  was  not  sec- 
ond, but  first  nature  to  him.  I  do  not  believe  he  ever  wilfully 
wasted  an  hour  in  his  life,  lie  counted  time  by  seconds,  and 
contended  that  every  tick  of  a  man's  watch  meant  a  breath  of 
his  life,  and  therefore  was  precious.  This  marvellous  energy, 
illumined  by  the  highestorder  of  intellectuality,  and  directed  by  a 
spirit  wholly  consecrated  to  the  service  of  God,  inspired  his  life 
of  vast  usefulness  and  made  Dr.  Deems  the  great  and  good  man 
that  he  was.     Thus  you  all  knew  him  out  in  the  world  ! 

At  home,  oh — what  a  sweet  privilege  to  have  known  him 
there  !  I  cannot  trust  myself  to  talk  much  about  it.  Words 
seem  too  harsh  to  wrrap  our  tenderest  thoughts  in.  If  I  could 
show  you  through  my  heart's  eyes  a  thousand  pictures  that  hang 
on  memory's  wall,  and  let  them  be  my  hearthstone  tribute,  love 
would  be  content  with  the  offering  and  the  sweetness  of  home  be 
idealized. 

He  never  came  in  from  work  too  tired  to  be  tender.  He 
never  became  so  engrossed  by  his  interest  in  outside  affairs  that 
he  lost  relish  for  domestic  affiliations.  His  wit  was  never  so 
dulled  by  use  in  public  places  that  it  ceased  to  sparkle  in  the 
family  circle.  His  humor  did  not  exhaust  itself  in  great  crowds, 
with  the  hope  of  applause — he  made  his  rarest  fun  and  told  his 
best  stories  at  the  fireside. 

When  serious,  he  delighted  to  fold  us  all  in  his  abiding  love, 
and  enrich  us  with  his  blessings.  When  joyous  he  suffused  the 
whole  house  with  the  sunshine  of  his  soul,  and  made  his  gladness 
contagious. 

With  his  grandchildren  he  was  playfellow,  even  after  he  wrote 
"My  Septuagint."  With  his  children  he  was  always  boon  com- 
panion.     And   to  his    sweetheart  bride    of    fifty    years  he   was 


29O  MEMORIAL   TRIBUTE. 

courtly  knight  and  loyal  lover,  down  to  their  golden  wedding 
day. 

His  whole  life  was  a  love-letter  to  mankind,  with  its  sweetest, 
tenderest,  and  holiest  passages  dedicated  to  his  family. 

Oh,  sainted  soul  in  glory  !  hear  the  sweet  praises  of  thy  peo- 
ple on  earth.  Hear  the  words  of  these  pure-hearted  women,  the 
one  saying,  "When  he  swept  through  the  pearly  gates  on  that 
blessed  Sunday  morn  like  a  great  burst  of  light,  into  the  eternal 
city,  all  the  angels  must  have  turned  to  bid  him  welcome,  and 
shout  for  joy  at  his  advent  "  ;  and  another,  pouring  out  the  liba- 
tion of  her  love,  says  :  "  The  thought  of  heaven  will  forever  here- 
after be  sweeter  to  me  than  ever  before,  because  his  greeting 
waits  me  there." 

Oh  !  tribute  above  all  other  tributes,  living  testimony  to  the 
uplifting  power  of  his  life  on  earth  to  draw  souls  on  after  him  into 
the  life  eternal. 

Faithful  servant  of  God,  gone  now  to  thy  rest  and  reward, 
bend  down  to-night  from  the  battlements  of  heaven  and  pro- 
nounce one  more  benediction  upon  thy  people. 

Oh  !  blessed  head  of  our  house,  dearly  beloved  and  deeply 
revered,  may  thy  precious  example  prove  always  a  living  force 
in  our  lives,  strong  enough  to  hold  us  in  the  ways  of  upright- 
ness; and  may  a  sweet  remembrance  of  all  thy  loving-kindness 
and  teachings  of  truth  be  as  incense  burning  perpetually  on  the 
home  altar,  to  keep  our  hearts  pure  forever. 


MEMORIAL    TRIBUTE.  2(j\ 


THE  LIGHT  IS  AT  THE  END. 

The  following  hymn,  written  by  Dr.  Deems,  was  sung  at  both 
the  funeral  and  the  memorial  service  held  in  the  Church  of  the 
Strangers  : 

By  the  order  of  the  Master 

Time  began  its  course  in  night; 
'Twas  the  evening  and  the  morning, 
First  the  darkness,  then  the  light; 
Let  us  not  grow  weary  watching 
In  the  shadows  God  may  send; 
Darkness  cannot  last  forever, 
And  the  light  is  at  the  end. 
Go  bravely  through  the  darkness, 
For  the  light  is  at  the  end. 

On.  the  paths  we  now  are  marching 

Our  great  Master's  feet  have  trod; 
And  each  weary,  faltering  footstep 

Brings  us  nearer  to  our  God. 
Then  in  passing  through  the  valley, 

When  the  shadows  o'er  us  bend, 
Let  us  keep  our  courage  steady, 

For  the  light  is  at  the  end. 
Go  bravely  through  the  darkness, 

For  the  light  is  at  the  end. 

We  shall  soon  be  called  to  travel 

Through  the  vale  of  death's  dark  shade; 

But  we  know  who  will  be  with  us. 
And  we  cannot  be  afraid. 

We  will  cheer  the  way  with  music, 
Walking  with  our  Master-Friend, 

Leaning  on  His  staff  and  gazing 


At  the  light  that's  at  the  end. 
Go  bravely  through  the  darkness, 
For  the  light  is  at  the  end. 


SOUTHERN  MEMORIES  OF  DR.  DEEMS. 

A  Set  vice  in  the  University  of  North  Carolina  on 
the  Day  of  the  Funeral  in  New  York. 

At  the  instance  of  George  T.  Winston,  President  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  North  Carolina,  services  were  held  in  the  University 
chapel  in  commemoration  of  Dr.  Charles  F.  Deems,  at  the  same 
hour  that  the  funeral  services  were  being  conducted  in  New  York. 
Dr.  Winston  in  feeling  language  explained  the  object  of  the 
meeting  and  then  at  his  request  the  Rev.  Dr.  Thomas  Hume  fol- 
lowed with  a  most  fervent  and  appropriate  prayer.  Then  Prof. 
Kemp  P.  Battle,  who  forty-seven  years  ago  was  a  pupil  of  Dr. 
Deems  delivered  an  impromptu  address, the  substance  of  which  we 
publish.  There  were  two  hymns  beautifully  sung  by  the  univer- 
sity choir  under  the  leadership  of  Karl  P.  Harrington,  professor  of 
Latin.  The  first  had  for  its  burden  Christian  hope,  the  second 
was  the  beautiful  ode,  Integer  Vitae,  Dr.  Hume  introducing  it 
with  the  remark  that  a  tribute  to  a  just  man  is  good  for  all  time. 
The  Rev.  Dr.  John  S.  Carroll,  of  the  Baptist  Church  at  Chapel 
Hill,  in  the  closing  prayer,  thanked  God  for  the  gift  to  the  world 
of  one  so  active  in  all  good  works  as  Dr.  Deems.  Prof.  Battle 
said  in  substance  : 

It  is  a  melancholy  gratification  to  me  to  give  my  testimony 
to  the  character  and  work  of  the  great  and  good  man,  whose  fu- 
neral services  are  being  now  conducted  in  a  distant  city.  There 
are  only  two  persons  in  this  congregation  who  have  known  him 
longer  than  I.  When  my  father  brought  me,  a  boy,  to  this  village 
in  1843,  Dr.  Deems  was  adjunct  professor  of  rhetoric  and  logic  in 
the  university.  The  authorities  had  heard  of  his  scholarly  attain- 
ments and  his  oratorical  powers,  and  created  a  chair  in  order  to  se- 
cure him  as  a  member  of  its  faculty.  His  abounding  energy  did  not 
permit  his  confinement  to  his  professional  duties.  He  organized 
a  congregation  of  his  church,  the  first  in  Chapel  Hill,  serving 
without  compensation.  The  "meeting-house"  was  an  "upper 
chamber,"  above  a  store,  to  which  he  gave  the  name,  Bethesda. 

292 


MEMORIAL   TRIBUTE.  293 

It  was  without  furniture,  except  backless  pine  benches,  and  a 
cloth  covered  table  for  a  pulpit.  It  was  lighted  at  night  by  tal- 
low candles  set  in  wooden  sockets.  The  contrast  between  the 
material  rudeness  and  the  elegance  of  the  preacher  was  most 
striking.  After  the  lapse  of  fifty  years  I  recall  vividly  the  sim- 
plicity, the  force,  the  fervor,  the  eloquence  of  those  discourses. 
Particularly  one  on  Truth  lives  in  my  memory  as  if  delivered  only 
a  few  days  ago. 

In  addition  to  the  studies  of  his  own  department  Dr.  Deems 
taught  Horace  to  the  Sophomore  class.  I  read  with  him  the 
beautiful  ode,  "  Integer  Vitae,"  which  you  will  sing  to-day.  He 
did  not  pay  much  attention  to  the  niceties  of  grammar  and  pros- 
ody, but  he  was  very  strong  in  pointing  out  to  us  the  literary  ex- 
cellencies of  the  author,  the  elegance,  humor,  wit,  satire,  philos- 
ophy, the  beauties  of  style  and  rhythm.  His  courtesy,  kindness, 
sympathetic  interest  in  our  welfare  endeared  him  to  our  class  and 
we  sincerely  grieved  over  his  departure.  [Dr.  Battle  here  gave 
incidents  in  Dr.  Deems's  life  in  the  South  previous  to  the  Civil 
War.] 

Dr.  Deems's  clear  eye  saw  that  this  war  would  bring  untold 
suffering  on  the  South.  His  tender  heart  was  sore  at  the  sad 
fate  of  thousands  of  orphans,  whose  fathers  would  certainly  be 
cut  off  on  battle-field  or  in  hospitals.  Yearning  to  provide  for 
these  future  waifs,  undaunted  by  the  horrors  and  privations  inci- 
dent to  a  war  of  invasion,  he  entered  on  the  grand  enterprise 
of  raising  the  endowment  of  an  asylum  for  the  orphans  of  Con- 
federate soldiers.  His  plan  was  wisely  conceived  and  carried  out 
with  the  tenacity  and  pluck  for  which  he  was  remarkable.  Sub- 
scriptions in  Confederate  currency  were  taken,  to  be  invested  in 
cotton,  or  otherwise,  so  as  to  be  available  after  the  termination  of 
the  war.  Large  assets  were  collected  by  him,  but  were  lost  by  the 
casualties  of  the  closing  struggle.  That  the  scheme  was  wisely 
conceived  is  proved  by  the  fact  that  some  large  fortunes  were 
realized  by  men  whose  investments  were,  fortunately,  outside  the 
track  of  destroying  armies. 

The  war  being  ended,  and  the  South  being  temporarily  in 
ruins,  Dr.  Deems  sought  a  broader  field  of  usefulness  in  the  great 
cosmopolitan  city  of  the  Western  continent.     In  common  with 


294  MEMORIAL   TRIBUTE. 

many  thousands  of  other  Southern  men  he  rightly  reasoned  that 
the  teeming  population  of  New  York  were  too  busy  to  retain  long 
the  animosities  which  are  necessarily  engendered  in  civil  strife. 
From  this  centre  of  the  activities  of  the  Western  continent, 
he  sought,  in  the  pages  of  The  Watchman,  a  weekly  family 
newspaper,  designed  mainly  for  Southern  circulation,  to  en- 
courage his  stricken  people,  and  to  instruct  them  on  the  re- 
ligious, scientific  and  political  questions  of  the  day.  The  paper 
was  conducted  with  unusual  ability,  but  the  financial  obstacles 
were  too  formidable  for  its  success.  After  a  brave  struggle,  and 
most  arduous  labors  of  its  editor,  it  was  suspended.  The 
Watchman  Publishing  Company,  however,  will  not  be  forgot- 
ten by  students  of  history,  especially  by  those  interested  in 
North  Carolina.  It  published  a  very  valuable  contribution  to 
the  history  of  our  State,  "  The  Last  Ninety  Days  of  the  War  in 
North  Carolina,"  by  our  gifted  townswoman,  Mrs.  Cornelia  Phil 
lips  Spencer. 

It  was  characteristic  of  our  deceased  friend  never  to  be  cast 
down  by  defeat.  With  hopeful  reliance  on  the  truth  that  God 
doeth  all  things  well,  he  turned  from  his  editorial  toils  to  mission- 
ary work  for  his  Master.  As  St.  Paul  was  moved  by  the  sight  of  the 
idol-worship  of  Athens,  so  the  heart  of  this  follower  of  the  blessed 
Apostle  yearned  to  minister  to  the  spiritual  wants  of  the  vast 
numbers  of  strangers,  always  to  be  found  in  the  grander  city 
which  he  had  adopted  as  his  home.  He  procured  the  use  of  a 
hall  for  the  purpose,  and  blessed  beyond  measure  were  his  intel- 
ligent labors  and  eloquent  presentation  of  Christian  doctrine. 
One  of  the  financial  princes  of  the  city,  struck  by  the  novelty 
and  usefulness  of  his  plans,  generously  donated  a  church  edifice 
for  his  use.  The  Church  of  the  Strangers  assumed  at  once  a 
place  in  the  front  rank  of  the  beneficent  institutions  of  our  coun- 
try. Men  of  all  creeds  and  of  all  religious  denominations  found 
in  its  broad-minded  and  great-hearted  pastor  a  sympathetic 
friend  and  a  wise  counsellor.  Very  many  have  been  induced  by 
his  conscience-searching  discourses,  winning  souls  by  loving  per- 
suasion, rather  than  by  terrifying  threatenings,  to  break  the 
chains  of  iniquity  that  enslaved  them. 

His  restless  energy  did  not  allow  him  to  be  satisfied  with  the 


MEMORIAL   TRIBUTE.  295 

care  and  instruction  of  his  flock.  He  determined  to  organize  a 
society,  whose  chief  work  should  be  to  set  forth  the  proper  rela- 
tions of  science  and  religion.  The  success  of  the  American 
Institute  of  Christian  Philosophy  is  due  solely  to  him.  The  far- 
reaching  influence  for  good  of  its  organ,  CHRISTIAN  THOUGHT, 
with  its  numerous  articles  by  men  of  eminence  in  various  pro- 
fessions, is  the  result  of  his  careful  editing.  Nor  was  he  satisfied 
with  this  addition  to  his  clerical  duties.  He  found  time  to  write 
not  only  magazine  articles,  but  many  books  of  conspicuous  merit, 
distinguished  for  clearness  and  brightness.  Loyalty  to  Christ 
and  *'  Enthusiasm  for  humanity  "  permeated  them  all. 

Notwithstanding  his  engrossing  cares  ,and  the  successes  which 
would  have  turned  the  brain  of  a  less  balanced  man,  the  great 
heart  of  Dr.  Deems  never  lost  its  tenderness  towards  the  friends 
of  his  younger  days.  It  was  always  constant  to  North  Carolina 
and  to  its  university.  He  always  retained  a  home-like  feeling 
towards  Chapel  Hill.  Here  he  assumed  the  relationship  of  pastor 
to  his  first  flock.  Here  he  entered  on  his  first  professional  duties. 
Here  he  brought  his  lovely  bride,  the  joy  and  the  blessing  of  his 
life.  It  was  here  that  his  older  children  were  born.  Here  he 
made  loving  friends  who  never  failed  him.  So  in  his  book  called 
"  My  Septuagint,"  written  after  he  passed  his  three-score  years 
and  ten,  he  enumerates  the  seventy  men  dying  before  him,  who 
had  the  strongest  influence  on  his  life.  Four  of  these  were  pro- 
fessors in  one  university:  Wm.  H.  Battle,  Elisha  Mitchell,  James 
Phillips,  David  L.  Swain. 

In  the  darkest  hour  of  my  presidency  of  the  university,  when 
our  income  was  so  small  that  it  was  necessary  to  curtail  the 
salaries  of  the  faculty,  before  the  General  Assembly  had  been 
induced  to  come  to  our  relief,  I  received  a  letter  from  Dr.  Deems, 
which  was  as  a  ray  of  sunlight  through  a  rift  in  the  cloud.  Its 
purport  was  that  his  heart  prompted  him  to  aid  as  far  as  he  could 
young  men  of  North  Carolina,  aspiring  to  higher  education,  and 
at  the  same  time  erect  a  monument  to  the  memory  of  his  oldest 
son,  Theodore  Disosway  Deems,  born  at  Chapel  Hill,  who  had 
lost  his  life  in  the  Confederate  service.  To  these  ends  he  pro- 
posed to  establish  a  fund,  the  whole  of  which,  the  principal  and 
the  interest  which   might  accrue  from  time  to  time,  was  to  be 


296  MEMORIAL   TRIBUTE. 

loaned  on  good  security  directly  to  needy  students  of  this  uni- 
versity. He  enclosed  as  the  beginning  a  check  for  three  hundred 
dollars,  promising  to  add  to  the  amount  as  God  should  give  him 
the  means.  This  was  followed  in  a  few  months  by  two  hundred 
dollars  more,  and  in  December,  1880,  he  added  a  birthday  gift  of 
an  additional  hundred  dollars. 

Mr.  Wm.  H.  Vanderbilt  heard  of  this  laudable  scheme  and  a 
few  days  afterwards  asked  Dr.  Deems  to  explain  it  to  him.  This 
being  done,  he  said,  "  Doctor,  I  like  that.  I  will  add  ten  thou- 
sand dollars  to  it."  The  beneficent  wisdom  shown  in  the  inau- 
guration of  this  fund  has  been  proved  by  speedy  results.  One  of 
our  trustees  feared  that  poor  youths  could  not  find  solvent  sure- 
ties, and  asserted  that  with  such  security  they  could  borrow  money 
elsewhere.  He  was  mistaken.  Nearly  two  hundred  young  men 
have  already  been  lifted  by  its  aid  to  a  higher  life,  and  President 
Winston  tells  me  that  if  money  sufficient  was  in  his  hands  he 
could  find  one  hundred  and  fifty  more  willing  borrowers.  There 
are  always  good  men  willing  to  give  their  endorsement  in  order 
to  aid  aspiring  merit.  It  is  an  illustration  of  the  catholicity  of 
Dr.  Deems's  plan  that  the  first  five  men  who  owe  the  completion 
of  their  education  to  Dr.  Deems  are  all  engaged  in  distinctively 
Christian  work,  and  each  in  different  fields.  The  first  is  a  prom- 
inent minister  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South,  in  South 
Carolina.  The  second  is  an  efficient  secretary  of  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association  in  North  Carolina;  the  third  is  one 
of  the  most  successful  missionaries  of  the  Baptist  Church  in 
China;  the  fourth  is  a  Presbyterian  preacher  of  much  power  in  an 
eastern  town  of  our  State;  the  fifth  is  an  able  minister  of  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  our  city  of  Wilmington. 

It  appears  to  me  that  the  most  enduring  monument  erected 
by  Dr.  Deems  is  this  Deems  Fund.  In  the  nature  of  things  in  a 
few  decades  of  years  it  is  probable  that  future  generations,  when 
they  think  of  the  Church  of  the  Strangers,  will  associate  it  with 
their  own  favorite  pastor,  rather  than  with  its  broad-viewed 
founder.  His  name  will  be  obscured  by  those  of  eminent  divines, 
who,  each  in  his  turn,  will  fill  the  minds  of  men.  So  other  lead- 
ers of  thought  will  guide  to  usefulness  the  American  Institute 
of  Christian  Philosophy  and  other  institutions  of  which  he  was  a 


MEMORIAL  TRIBUTE,  297 

prominent  factor.  Much  as  we  admire  him,  we  can  hardly  hope 
that  any  of  his  books,  precious  as  they  are  to  us,  will  take  their 
place  by  the  side  of  "  Pilgrim's  Progress  "  and  other  writings  which 
seem  destined  to  a  perennial  youth.  But  the  Deems  Fund  in 
our  University  is  a  monument  which  will,  so  far  as  mortal  eyes 
can  discern,  last  forever.  It  may  sustain  occasional  losses,  but 
those  losses  will  not  equal  the  annual  interest.  It  is  a  benefac- 
tion growing  with  compound  interest.  It  started  at  $10,600;  it 
is  now  $15,300.  The  feature  of  lending  principal,  as  well  as  in- 
terest, directly  to  the  needy  students,  whose  neighbors  are  willing 
to  become  sureties  for  repayment  out  of  their  early  earnings, 
makes  this  one  of  the  wisest  schemes  ever  devised  for  helping 
young  men  of  promise  and  of  pluck.  It  has  already  achieved 
great  results.  In  all  the  coming  years  it  will  be  a  flowing  foun- 
tain of  blessings,  ever  increasing  in  volume.  As  long  as  grati- 
tude exists  as  a  virtue  in  the  hearts  of  men,  the  name  and  char- 
acter of  this  great  philanthropist  will  be  wreathed  with  immor- 
telles. 


A  PRAYER. 


O  nail  it  to  Thy  cross, 

My  wretched  carnal  pride, 
Which  glories  in  its  rags  and  dross, 

And  knows  no  wealth  beside: 
Ther~  let  it  surely  die  ; 

But  let  my  spirit  be 
Lifted,  to  sit  with  Thee  on  high 

In  sweet  humility. 

— From  "  My  Septuagint" 


THE  BANNER  OF  JESUS. 

[Written  for  the  Eleventh  Annual  Convention  of 
the  V.  P.  S.  C.  E.  by  Dr.  Deems.] 

Air — Star  Spangled  Banner. 

See,  see,  Comrades  !  see,  floating-  high  in  the  air, 

The  love-woven,  blood-sprinkled  banner  of  Jesus  ! 
The  symbol  of  hope,  beating  down  all  despair, 

From  sin  and  its  thralldom  triumphantly  frees  us. 
By  the  hand  that  was  pierced 

It  was  lifted  at  first, 
When  the  bars  of  the  grave  by  our  Captain  were  burst  ; 
That  blood-sprinkled  banner  must  yet  be  unfurled 
O'er  the  homes  of  all  men  and  the  thrones  of  the  world. 

Shout,  shout,  Comrades  !  shout,  that  our  Captain  and  Lord, 

That  standard  of  hope  first  entrusted  to  won. an; 
And  Mary,  dear  saint,  in  obeying  His  word, 

Flung  out  its  wide  folds  over  all  that  is  human; 
So  there  came  to  embrace 

That  sweet  ensign  of  grace, 
All  the  true  and  the  great,  all  the  best  of  our  race: 

That  blood-sprinkled  banner  must  yet  be  unfurled 
O'er  the  homes  of  all  men  and  the  thrones  of  the  world. 

March,  march,  Comrades !  march,  all  the  young,  all  the  old,. 

The  army  of  Christ  and  of  Christian  Endeavor; 
With  heroes  our  souls  having  now  been  enrolled, 

Our  banner  will  follow  forever  and  ever. 
For  our  march  shall  not  cease 

'Till  the  Gospel  of  peace 
Shall  our  race  in  all  lands  from  its  tyrants  release; 

That  blood-sprinkled  banner  must  yet  be  unfurled 
O'er  the  homes  of  all  men  a'nd  the  thrones  of  the  world. 

298 


DR.  DEEMS'S  LAST   MESSAGE  TO  THE    INSTITUTE. 

THE  Rev.  Edward  M.  Deems,  Ph.D.,  pastor  of  the  First  Pres- 
byterian Church  of  Hornellsville,  N.  Y.,  said  in  opening 
the  Summer  School  of  the  American  Institute  of  Christian  Phi- 
losophy at  Staten  Island,  July  6,  1S93 : 

Let  me  now  again  impress  upon  this  gathering  that  the  object 
of  this  Institute  is  to  get  from  the  best  minds  and  hearts  of 
American  Christian  thinkers  an  expression  of  their  ideas  on  the 
great  topics  of  philosophy  and  religion  which  are  influencing  the 
character  and  conduct  of  the  American  people,  and  other  people 
also;  and  may  I  add,  that  I  do  most  earnestly  trust,  not  because 
I  am  my  father's  son,  but  because  of  the  worthiness  of  the  object 
of  the  institution,  that  you  men  and  women  here  to-day  will 
stand  by  this  idea  and  this  institution  heroically  and,  if  need  be, 
with  self-sacrifice.  It  is  now  in  your  hands.  My  good  father  is 
limited  in  his  activity  for  the  institute,  but  still  does  what  he  can. 
This  morning,  as  I  left  him,  I  asked  him  what  message  he  would 
send  to  you.  Of  course  we  have  to  glean  from  the  expression 
of  his  face  more  even  than  from  the  words  of  his  mouth,  and  he 
showed  intense  interest  in  the  Institute  and  in  the  meeting  this 
afternoon.  He  is  here  this  moment,  pulsatingly,  livingly  here. 
What  he  said  to  me  in  his  broken  way  was  : 

"Tell  the  officers  and  members  of  the  American  Institute  of 
Christian  Philosophy  at  the  Summer  School  that  in  spirit  I  will 
be  with  them  promptly  at  every  meeting  of  the  session;  that  I 
am  working  for  them  daily  by  striving  to  secure  members  for  the 
institute  and  subscribers  for  CHRISTIAN  THOUGHT,  and  by  send- 
ing out  the  circulars  which  tell  of  the  objects  and  work  of  this 
institute.  My  hands,  in  the  Providence  of  God,  are  tied. 
Tell  them,"  he  said  distinctly,  "tell  the  officers  and  members  to 
select  another  President,  an  active  President,  and  to  work  more; 
tell  officers  and  members  to  work  more" 

This  is  his  behest  to  you,  dear  friends  ;  work  more  by  attend- 
ing the  meetings,  and  by  scattering  the  literature  of  the  Institute- 

299 


300  MEMORIAL   TRIBUTE. 

Give  money  to  the  treasury,  whereby  many  copies  of  Christian 
THOUGHT  may  be  sent  to  Japan,  China,  India  and  other  distant 
lands,  as  well  as  to  the  theological  seminaries  and  colleges  and 
others  institutions  of  America.  Support  financially  this  cause, 
so  that  it  may  continue  its  life,  and  have,  like  the  Victoria  In- 
stitute of  Great  Britain,  some  time  soon,  a  building,  a  local  habi- 
tation as  well  as  a  name,  in  which  there  may  be  built  up  a  per- 
fectly equipped  philosophical  library  for  reference  for  students 
who  desire  to  establish  Christian  ideas  and  principles,  and  a 
home  for  those  who  love  this  cause  and  the  truth  as  it  is 
in  the  Word  and  in  Jesus.  I  have  resolved  to  do  this,  and  I 
ask  every  man  and  woman  here  to  earnestly  resolve  to  support 
the  American  Institute  always  and  in  every  way  in  order  that 
the  false  philosophy  of  the  day  may  be  corrected  by  the  Chris- 
tain  philosophy,  which  is  the  true  philosophy  not  only  in  this 
land,  but  throughout  the  universe. 


Having  now  been  three-score  years  and  ten  in  human  society, 
having  lived  at  home  and  in  foreign  lands,  been  rich  and  poor, 
been  in  war  and  in  peace,  in  Negro  cabins  and  Egyptian  huts,  I 
have  found  that  the  world  metes  out  to  a  man  very  much  what 
a  man  metes  out  to  the  world,  and  that  it  loves  to  be  kind.  Dear 
old  world,  as  at  this  Christmas  tide  I  have  said  something  kind 
of  thee,  I  should  not  wonder  if  thou  said  something  kind  of  me, 
when  I  have  left  thee.  I  shall  not  hear  it,  perhaps,  but  wherever 
I  go  I  shall  have  something  good  to  say  of  thee.  I  am  very  glad 
at  least  that  I  have  had  so  many  Christmases  with  thee  ! — Charles 
F<  Deems,  in  "  My  Septuagint" 


CHRISTIAN  HEROISM  IN  THE  SICK  CHAMBER. 

Mr.  Marion  J.  Verdery,  Dr.  Deems's  son-in-law,  has  writ- 
ten a  brief  record  of  the  sick-room  experiences  which  will  be 
read  with  interest  by  all  who  knew  and  loved  him  whose  "  faith 
held  out  " : 

Dr.  Deems  was  stricken  with  paralysis  on  December  16th, 
1892,  and  ten  days  later  was  removed  from  the  New  York  Hotel, 
where  he  had  been  living-  several  years,  to  my  house,  which  there- 
after was  his  home  until  he  died.  It  was  therefore  my  privilege 
to  be  with  him  constantly  during  the  eleven  months  of  his  last  ill- 
ness, and  because  of  that  intimate  association  I  am  requested  to 
write  for  the  memorial  number  of  Christian  Thought,  a  brief 
account  of  him  while  he  lingered  in  the  trial  of  affliction,  and 
grew  strong  in  the  development  of  grace. 

My  intimacy  with  him  did  not  by  any  means  begin  when  he 
came  to  live  with  me.  I  had  been  his  son-in-law  for  twenty 
years,  and  in  all  that  time  he  had  drawn  me  closely  to  him  by 
the  warmth  of  his  sympathy,  the  cordiality  of  his  fellowship,  the 
unvariableness  of  his  confidence  and  the  helpfulness  of  his  coun- 
sel. He  was  my  faithful  friend,  not  only  because  he  was  my 
wife's  father,  but  also  because  his  great  heart  was  turned  toward 
me  for  my  own  sake. 

The  story  of  those  last  months  of  his  precious  life  on  earth 
would  be  hard  to  tell  in  detail.  The  recollection  of  each  day 
suggests  something  well  worth  telling.  All  the  incidents  of  his 
illness  were  in  such  beautiful  harmony  with  his  unwavering 
Christian  faith,  and  his  heroic  fortitude  at  the  end  was  such  fit- 
ting finish  to  the  more  than  fifty  years  of  consistency  as  a  preach- 
er of  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ,  that  a  record  of  his  last  days 
might  be  summed  up  in  the  brief  epitome:  "  He  finished  his 
course  with  joy,"  and  passed  from  the  trials  and  tears  of  earth, 
into  the  triumph  of  eternal  life.  It  will  always  be  a  comfort  to 
those  who  loved  him,  to  know  that  he  experienced  little  bodily 
pain  during  his  long  illness.     There  were  two  short  periods — 

301 


302  MEMORIAL   TRIBUTE. 

amounting  together  to  about  four  weeks — when  his  agony  was 
great,  but  expecting  these  spells  his  suffering  was  very  slight. 
I  think  his  mental  anguish  was  intense  when  he  was  first  pros- 
trated. 

When  his  pen  fell  from  his  right  hand  it  was  as  though  his 
hitherto  strong  grasp  had  loosened  of  ever  on  one  of  his  best  in- 
struments for  good,  and  his  noble  heart  ached  more  even  than  a 
warrior's  heart  aches  when  he  lays  down  his  sword.  But  the  loss 
of  speech  was  a  still  more  terrible  blow,  for  he  felt  to  be  bereft 
of  that  was  to  have  lost  his  greatest  power  for  truth,  and  he  sor- 
rowed at  the  thought  of  never  being  able  again  to  talk  or  Christ: 
His  religious  convictions  were  so  confirmed  in  his  whole  being, 
that  preaching  was  a  holy  passion  with  him.  It  was  in  the  short 
and  decisive  battle  with  his  human  nature,  which  at  first  rebelled 
against  his  withered  hand  and  silenced  tongue,  that  I  watched 
him  win  his  most  splendid  spiritual  victory.  He  never  com- 
plained much  even  in  the  beginning,  and  it  was  only  a  little 
while  until  every  trace  of  inward  strife  was  subdued,  and  in  the 
sweetness  of  Christian  grace,  he  was  completely  reconciled. 
Through  all  the  months  that  followed,  to  the  very  end,  his  pa- 
tience was  a  sermon  to  all  who  saw  him,  and  his  marvellous 
cheerfulness  was  a  benediction  to  those  who  came  into  the  sweet 
sunshine  of  his  presence.  His  humor  held  out  to  the  last,  and 
his  keen  relish  for  fun  dispelled  many  a  shadow  from  his  sick 
room.  He  was  truly  a  many-sided  man,  and  during  his  last  ill- 
ness each  and  every  side  seemed  to  shine  by  turn.  His  wit,  his 
humor,  his  loving  sympathy,  his  keen  intellectuality,  his  energy, 
his  grateful  appreciation  of  smallest  favors,  his  bravery,  his  ten- 
derness, his  patriotism  and  his  religion,  all  these  combined  to 
make  a  man  of  extraordinary  personality  and  a  life  of  widest  use- 
fulness. 

He  lived  in  the  vigorous  exercise  of  all  these  virtuous  char- 
acteristics even  after  his  physical  frame  had  partially  succumbed 
to  the  attack  of  fatal  disease,  and  finally  walked  down  into  the 
valley  of  the  shadow  of  death  fearing  no  evil,  knowing  that  he 
was  going  safely  and  swiftly  into  the  rich  inheritance  of  "the 
soul  of  a  just  man  made  perfect."  His  life  was  a  heroic  battle  ior 
truth,  his  death  was  a  splendid  triumph  of  grace.     His  trials  dis- 


MEMORIAL   TRIBUTE.  303 

-ciplined  his  nature  and  his  suffering  sanctified  his  soul.  The 
buoyancy  of  his  boyhood  became  the  earnestness  of  his  old  age, 
the  splendor  of  the  early  man  mellowed  into  the  sweet  and  peace- 
ful light  of  eventide,  and  he  fell  asleep  in  the  restfulness  of  a 
clean  conscience  and  a  sustaining  faith. 


ACTION    OF    REPRESENTATIVE   BODIES. 

THE   AMERICAN  INSTITUTE    OF   CHRISTIAN    PHILOSOPHY. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  American  Institute  of  Christian  Phi- 
losophy held  on  February  7,  1893,  at  8  P.M.,  the  Rev.  Dr.  J.  H. 
Edwards  offered  the  following  paper  in  view  of  the  illness  of  the 
President,  Dr.  Charles  F.  Deems: 

Resolved,  That  the  members  of  the  American  Institute  of 
Christian  Philosophy  tender  their  heartfelt  sympathy  to  its  hon- 
ored and  beloved  President,  in  view  of  the  bodily  illness  which 
keeps  him  from  his  accustomed  place  among  them,  as  well  as 
from  his  many  and  important  labors  in  other  relations. 

The  Institute  takes  this  opportunity  to  express  its  profound 
-sense  of  the  invaluable  service  rendered  to  the  Christian  world  by 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Charles  F.  Deems,  as  chief  founder  of  the  Institute 
of  Christian  Philosophy  and  also  by  his  voice  and  pen.  His 
breadth  of  vision,  his  genial  and  most  catholic  spirit,  and  his 
practical  ability,  shown  especially  in  drawing  to  his  aid  so  many 
of  the  best  Christian  thinkers  and  workers,  have  given  the  Insti- 
tute a  character  and  influence  recognized  in  many  lands. 

The  members  of  this  society  join  with  the  numberless  friends 
of  Dr.  Deems  in  the  earnest  hope  and  prayer  that  his  physical 
disablement  may  soon  be  removed,  and  that  his  hand  and  voice 
may  long  be  continued  in  their  consecrated  service. 

The  Committee  appointed  by  the  Institute  on  December  5,1893, 
to  prepare  a  suitable  memorial  on  the  death  of  President  Deems 
consisted  of  Dr.  R.  S.  MacArthur,  Dr.  D.  S.  Gregory,  and  Prof. 
D.  S.  Martin.  The  following  is  the  tribute  presented  by  Dr. 
MacArthur  in  behalf  of  the  Committee  : 

In  the  death,  on  November  18,  1893,  of  the  Rev.  Charles  F. 
Deems,  D.D.,  LL.D  ,  we  all  experienced  a  personal  bereavement. 
He  had  a  large  and  warm  place  in  the  hearts  of  thousands  in  our 


304  MEMORIAL   TRIBUTE. 

own  country  and  in  other  lands,  who  had  never  seen  his  face, 
heard  his  voice,  or  grasped  his  hand.  But  especially  is  this 
statement  true  of  those  who  met  him  frequently  as  members  of 
the  Institute  of  Christian  Philosophy.  His  life  and  ministry  were 
beautifully  unique,  alike  in  his  church  relations,  in  his  varied 
activities,  and  in  his  noble  achievements.  Soon  after  the  close 
of  the  Civil  War  he  came  to  New  York  and  organized  a  church 
composed  in  considerable  part  of  the  unchurched  Christians  from 
the  South.  The  history  of  his  relations  to  the  late  Commodore 
Vanderbilt  and  of  his  pastorate  of  the  Church  of  the  Strangers 
in  Mercer  Street  is  well  known.  His  temperament,  training  and 
sympathy  admirably  adapted  him  to  do  the  work  which  he  per- 
formed as  the  pastor  of  this  church.  He  united,  harmonized, 
and  solidified  Christians  of  various  religious  faiths,  political  sym- 
pathies, and  social  conditions  into  one  body,  which  was  well  or- 
ganized for  Christian  work,  and  heartily  unified  in  Christian  faith. 

But  in  addition  to  his  church  work  he  was  identified  with 
many  philanthropic  and  educational  enterprises.  He  was  the 
founder  of  the  American  Institute  of  Christian  Philosophy,  and 
he  became  its  first  president  and  held  that  position  until  the  time 
of  his  lamented  death.  His  experience  in  earlier  years  as  an 
educator,  and  his  various  and  generous  sympathies,  gave  him  spe- 
cial fitness  for  this  position.  While  broadly  sympathetic  toward 
truth  from  whatever  quarter  it  came,  and  by  whatsoever  messen- 
ger it  was  brought,  he  was  sincerely  and  enthusiastically  loyal 
to  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ.  He  recognized  the  fact  that  this 
Gospel  is  the  child  and  the  champion  of  truth;  he  saw  that  there 
ought  not  to  be  any  opposition  between  science  and  revelation; 
that  a  true  science  is  a  part  of  revelation;  that  God  is  one;  that 
truth  is  one;  that  God  and  truth  cannot  contradict  themselves; 
and  that  the  Book  of  Nature,  properly  interpreted,  must  agree 
with  the  Book  of  Revelation,  when  its  meaning  is  rightly  known. 

Dr.  Deems  was  a  warm  friend  of  the  poor.  His  genial  dispo- 
sition, rare  social  qualities,  and  especially  his  Christian  love  and 
faith,  enabled  him  to  reach  out  tenderly  and  Christianly  toward 
men  and  women  of  all  classes  and  conditions.  He  was  also  a 
man  of  most  wonderful  physical  activity.  He  worked  every 
Sunday  of  every  year  through  long  periods.     He  found  his  rest 


MEMORIAL   TRIBUTE.  305 

in  change  of  work;  practically  he  made  a  broad  distinction  be- 
tween toil  and  work.  He  believed  that  toil  is  wearisome,  but 
that  work  is  gladsome.  He  was  thus  enabled  to  accomplish  dur- 
ing the  year  an  amount  of  work  which  almost  saddened  some  of 
his  friends,  while  it  amazed  all  who  knew  him.  He  was  in  New 
York  to-day  and  almost  on  the  other  side  of  the  continent  by 
the  middle  of  the  week,  and  back  again  in  his  pulpit  for  the  next 
Sunday.  He  preached  every  Sunday  all  summer  for  many  con- 
secutive seasons. 

He  was  also  widely  known  in  the  field  of  authorship;  volume 
after  volume  came  forth  rapidly  from  his  facile  pen.  Some  of 
these  volumes  are  important  contributions  to  Christian  litera- 
ture; they  will  go  on  their  mission  blessing  men  and  honoring 
God  through  the  years  to  come  ;  being  dead,  this  devoted  pas- 
tor, loving  friend,  broad  scholar,  and  attractive  writer  will  con- 
tinue to  speak,  convincing  the  judgment,  warming  the  heart, 
and  blessing  the  life  of  his  readers.  His  work  in  the  cause  of 
temperance  was  as  hearty,  unselfish  and  inspiring  as  his  labors 
in  all  other  departments  of  Christian  philanthropy  and  patriotism; 
although  some  excellent  brethren  differed  in  judgment  as  to  the 
temperance  methods  which  he  advocated,  they  all  appreciated 
his  sincerity  and  ability  in  the  advocacy  of  his  Prohibition  views. 
He  was  an  inspiration  to  all  his  younger  brethren  by  his  physi- 
cal vigor,  varied  activity,  intellectual  resiliency,  and  spiritual  con- 
secration. Every  noble  man  admired  and  loved  him.  He  was  in 
touch  with  every  form  of  good  work  in  every  religious  denomi- 
nation and  in  every  philanthropic  movement. 

To  his  wife  and  family  we  give  this  expression  of  our  tender 
sympathy,  and  at  the  same  time  express  to  them  our  congratu- 
lations that  the  husband  and  father  was  sucji  a  man.  We  pray 
that  we  ourselves  may  follow  in  his  footsteps  as  he  followed  the 
Lord  Jesus,  our  Master  and  his;  and  that  together  we  at  last  may 
cast  our  crowns  at  the  feet  of  our  common  Lord  and  Saviour. 

THE    CHURCH   OF   THE    STRANGERS. 

The  Monthly  Meeting  of  the  Church  of  the  Strangers  held  on 
the  evening  of  November  29,  1893,  by  committee,  adopted  the 
following: 

As  our  Heavenly  Father  has  deemed  it  best  to  take  to  Him- 


306  MEMORIAL   TRIBUTE. 

self  our  beloved  pastor,  Rev.  Charles  F.  Deems,  D.D.,  LL.D., 
and  while  any  form  of  words  would  but  feebly  represent  the  deep 
and  abiding  sense  of  our  great  bereavement;  nevertheless,  we 
desire  to  express,  however  inadequately,  our  grief  at  a  loss 
which  impresses  us  so  keenly.  A  profound  thinker  and  a  pre- 
eminent teacher;  to  the  world  he  was  the  gifted  and  eloquent 
preacher,  but  to  us  he  was  the  faithful  pastor  and  loving  friend, 
and,  like  the  Master  he  delighted  to  serve,  he,  too,  was  "  touched 
with  a  feeling  of  our  infirmities."  His  abiding  trust  in  the  guid- 
ing hand  of  Providence  and  his  unswerving  faith  in  the  truth  of 
the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  was  an  inspiration  and  a  consolation 
to  all  confessing  Christians,  especially  to  those  of  his  own  flock. 

In  him  love  for  all  men  was  exemplified,  and  to  those  most 
in  need  of  human  love  and  human  sympathy  his  heart  went  out 
most  tenderly  and  most  bountifully.  His  unblemished  life,  his 
zealous  efforts  for  the  propagation  of  the  truth  and  his  unselfish 
devotion  to  every  righteous  cause  have  left  an  imperishable 
example  and  an  unfading  influence  for  good  to  all  mankind. 

With  thankfulness  to  Almighty  God  that  He  has  given  us  the 
great  privilege  of  long  fellowship  with  a  character  so  sweetly 
pure,  and  so  simply  noble,  the  members  of  the  Church  of  the 
Strangers,  which  he  founded,  unitedly  and  with  loving  hearts, 
bring  this  humble  tribute  to  lay  upon  his  tomb,  and  direct  that 
this  expression  shall  be  inscribed  on  the  Minutes  of  the  Church 
and  a  copy  be  sent  to  the  bereaved  family. 
(Signed) 

Geo.  W.  Clarke,  President  of  Advisory  Council ;  S.  B. 
Downes,  President  of  Board  of  Trustees;  Robert  Scott,  Young 
People's  Society  of  Christian  Endeavor;  John  W.  Miles,  Super- 
intendent of  Sunday-school  ;  W.  S.  Pulver,  President  of  the 
Monthly  Meeting;   Charles  E.  Davis,  Secretary  of  the  Monthly 

Meeting. 

THE   CONGREGATIONAL   CLUB. 

In  the  death  of  the  Rev.  Charles  F.  Deems,  D.D.,  New  York 

has  lost  one  of  its  most  honored  citizens,  the  Christian  Church 
throughout  our  land  one  of  its  most  eloquent,  spiritual  and  useful 
preachers,  and  the  Congregational  Club  of  New  York  and  vicinity 
one  of  its  most  faithful  and  best  loved  members. 


MEMORIAL   TRIBUTE,  307 

For  twenty-eight  years  Dr.  Deems  has  been  a  resident  of 
New  York,  and  in  all  that  time  his  voice  has  always  been  heard 
on  the  side  of  truth  and  right;  he  has  ever  been  the  champion 
of  wise  reforms  ;  his  pulpit  has  been  a  throne  of  power  whose 
influence  has  been  felt  in  all  the  city,  while  his  godly  life  has 
borne  unvarying  witness  to  the  vitality  and  constancy  of  his 
Christian  faith. 

In  all  the  years  of  his  connection  with  this  club  no  voice  has 
been  more  welcome  than  his  in  its  discussions,  and  no  presence 
more  welcome  at  our  meetings. 

We  desire  at  this  time  to  bear  witness  to  our  appreciation  of 
his  lofty  character,  great  ability,  singular  consecration,  and  his 
great  services  to  the  Church  and  the  nation. 

He  was  an  unselfish  patriot,  a  tireless  worker  in  behalf  of  the 
reunion  of  Christendom,  a  most  genial  and  delightful  companion, 
an  urbane  gentleman,  and,  best  of  all,  a  man  of  God  whose  chief 
delight  was  the  advancement  of  the  kingdom  of  God  by  the 
preaching  of  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ. 

We  desire  at  this  time  to  express  our  gratitude  for  the  privi- 
lege of  having  had  Dr.  Deems  so  long  in  our  membership,  and 
to  congratulate  his  beloved  family  on  his  splendid  career  and  the 
incalculable  blessing  which  his  life  has  been  to  them,  to  us,  and 
to  the  world.  When  such  men  go  away  from  us  death  is  swal- 
lowed up  in  victory. 

Resolved,  That  this  minute  be  entered  on  the  records  of  this 
Club,  and  a  copy  of  it  sent  to  the  family  of  Dr.  Deems. 

THE   COUNCIL    OF   THE   NEW   YORK   UNIVERSITY. 

The  Council  of  New  York  University  record  the  long  and 
important  service  given  by  Rev.  Dr.  Charles  Force  Deems  to 
the  cause  of  higher  education  and  to  this  university.  A  college 
graduate  at  eighteen,  he  was  a  professor  at  twenty-two,  continu- 
ing for  six  years,  and  afterwards  a  college  president  for  five 
years,  in  his  native  State  of  North  Carolina  and  in  Virginia.  He 
has  been  for  more  than  seventeen  years  a  wise  and  helpful  mem- 
ber of  this  body,  and  was  the  seventh  on  our  roll  in  the  order  of 
service.  He  has  sustained  every  advance  movement  with  the 
spirit  of  a  young  man.     He  has  founded  a  loan  fund  for  students 


308  MEMORIAL   TRIBUTE, 

in  this  university,  which  has  already  borne  excellent  fruit,  and  is 
a  memorial  of  his  generous  interest  in  worthy  young  men.  As 
founder  of  the  Institute  of  Christian  Philosophy,  as  editor  and 
author,  he  has  unceasingly  promoted  higher  Christian  culture. 

We  place  upon  our  minutes  this  expression  of  our  loss,  and 
resolve  that  his  name  be  permanently  given  to  the  loan  fund  as 
a  perpetual  memorial  of  his  work  among  us. 

Further,  it  is  resolved  that  we  attend  in  a  body  the  funeral 
at  noon  this  day,  and  that  a  copy  of  this  action  be  sent  to  his 
family. 

THE  NATIONAL  PROHIBITION  CAMP-GROUND  ASSOCIATION. 
With  a  profound  sense  of  loss  we  have  heard  of  the  death  of 
Rev.  Charles  F.  Deems,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  one  of  the  original  found- 
ers and  corporate  members  of  this  association,  and  since  the 
death  of  General  Clinton  B.  Fisk,  its  president,  an  interested  and 
enthusiastic  supporter  of  the  National  Prohibition  Park  enterprise. 
While  deeply  conscious  of  the  large  vacancy  left  in  this  associa- 
tion, in  the  Christian  Church  in  this  city,  and  the  world,  by  his 
being  laid  aside  from  his  active,  and  various  and  important 
labors,  and  his  removal  to  a  higher  and  broader  sphere,  we 
acknowledge  with  thankfulness  to  Almighty  God  the  richness  of 
His  beneficence  to  mankind,  in  the  gift  of  a  man  of  such  rare 
and  large  natural  endowments,  of  such  varied  and  versatile 
attainments,  of  such  genial  and  fraternal  spirit,  and  of  such  emi- 
nent usefulness  in  his  day  and  generation;  we  likewise  gratefully 
record  our  appreciation  of  the  fact  that  he  was  spared  to  us  till 
he  had  passed  more  than  the  allotted  three-score  and  ten  years 
of  human  life;  and  we  are  thankful  above  all  that  the  one  aim 
and  tendency  of  all  his  work  was  to  make  life,  society,  philosophy 
and  religion  more  Christian  and  inspiring. 

THE  NEW  YORK  PREACHERS'  MEETING. 
Resolved,  That  we  are  greatly  bereaved  in  the  death  of  our 
much  esteemed  brother  in  the  ministry,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Charles  F. 
Deems,  for  so  long  a  period  pastor  of  the  Church  of  the  Strangers 
in  this  city,  his  almost  imperishable  monument,  and  partaker 
with  us  to  a  very  large  extent  in  every  good  word  and  work. 
Coming  back  to  this  city  at  the  close  of  the  recent  war,  when 


MEMORIAL   TRIBUTE.  309 

distractions  and  divisions  were  abounding,  he  proved  the  t>ond  of 
union  for  many  sundered  hearts  and  associates.  Always  true  to 
the  Methodist  principles  in  which  he  had  been  trained  from 
childhood,  his  mind  was  yet  so  catholic  and  his  spirit  so  amiable 
that  perhaps  more  than  any  other  he  became  the  brother  to  us 
all.  A  scholar  and  the  founder  and  chief  support  of  an  important 
historical  society,  the  eloquent  herald  of  a  glorious  Gospel,  and 
the  powerful  advocate  of  temperance,  missions,  the  Sabbath,  and 
of  saving  faith  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  full  of  the  love  of 
Christ,  the  love  of  the  universal  Church  and  of  humanity.  We 
deeply  sympathize  with  his  mourning  congregation  and  his 
family,  and  yet  we  rejoice  that  the  Gospel  he  preached  so  long 
was  ample  for  the  necessities  of  his  long  passage  through  the 
dark  valley.  We  direct  that  the  sympathies  of  this  Preachers' 
Meeting  be  sent  to  his  bereaved  widow  for  the  entire  family,  and 
also,  to  the  church  of  which  he  was  the  founder,  and  for  so  long 
time  the  pastor. 

THE   PHILOTHEAN   CLUB. 

To-day  we  mourn  the  loss  of  a  dear  and  honored  member  of 
our  Brotherhood  in  the  departure  from  among  us  of  Charles  F. 
Deems.  For  his  noble  Christian  character,  for  all  that  he  was  to 
us,  and  was  permitted  to  accomplish  by  voice  and  pen  for  his 
Lord  and  his  fellow-men,  we  give  thanks  to  God  whose  grace 
was  conspicuous  in  His  servant's  life.  We  shall  keenly  miss  his 
warm-hearted  greeting,  his  quick  bright  humor,  his  clear  and 
honest  insight,  his  loyalty  to  truth,  his  wise  and  helpful  judg- 
ments, his  outspoken  love  for  our  common  Master.  His  life  has 
been  an  inspiration.  His  memory  is  a  benediction.  "  The  Lord 
gave  and  the  Lord  hath  taken  away,  blessed  be  the  name  of  the 
Lord  !  "  We  shall  cherish  his  memory  with  gratitude  and  love. 
We  shall  think  of  him  with  that  sweet  assurance  with  which  we 
anticipate  the  reunion  above  of  our  dear  ones  fallen  asleep  in 
Christ.  To  Mrs.  Deems  and  her  children  "Philo"  tenders  its 
earnest  and  affectionate  sympathy.  The  Lord  bless  them  and 
keep  them.  The  Lord  make  His  face  to  shine  upon  them  and 
be  gracious  unto  them.  The  Lord  lift  up  His  countenance  upon 
them  and  give  them  Peace  ! 


3IO  MEMORIAL   TRIBUTE. 

THE   PALESTINE    COMMANDERY. 

The  Palestine  Commandery  sent  the  following  letter  to  Mrs. 
Deems : 

Dear  SISTER  :  The  fraters  of  your  late  husband  desire  to 
express  their  sympathy  for  you  in  these  your  days  of  bereave- 
ment. We  knew  him  as  a  vigorous  orator,  a  prolific  author,  an 
accurate  scholar,  a  faithful  Christian  and  a  true  Mason.  Inti- 
mately associated  as  we  have  been  with  him  in  the  past,  in  the 
work  and  labor  of  the  Commandery,  he  has  reflected  in  all  his 
companionship  with  us  the  brightness  of  that  inner  life  which  he 
daily  lived  in  the  beauty  of  holiness.  For  you  and  yours  our 
prayers  shall  ascend  daily  to  the  Father  of  us  all  that  He  would 
grant  unto  you  the  sustaining  power  of  His  grace,  and  the  com- 
forting influence  of  His  holy  Spirit  ;  that  you  may  find  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  a  present  help  in  this  your  time  of  trouble.  If  any 
member  of  the  Commandery  can  be  of  service  to  you  in  any 
capacity,  you  may  command  us.  We  pray  that  the  blessing  of 
Heaven  may  rest  upon  you,  and  that  at  last  you  may  meet  him 
who  has  gone  before  in  that  land  where  there  is  no  night. 


The  two  classes  who  stand  most  in  the  way  of  the  adjustment 
of  the  difficulties  of  social  life  are  those  who  shout  at  the  wealthier 
brother:  "  All  thine  is  mine,"  and  those  who  fail  to  say  to  the 
poorer  brother:  "All  mine  is  thine."  Let  not  the  latter  class 
forget  that  they  are  just  as  guilty  as  the  former.  The  two  most 
injurious,  perhaps  equally  injurious,  classes  in  the  community  are 
the  ungenerous  rich  and  the  greedy  poor.  The  strength  and 
beauty  of  society  are  the  considerate,  charitable  rich  and  the 
contented  industrious  poor. — Charles  F.  Deems,  on  "  Christian 
Communism,? 


MEMORIAL   TRIBUTE.  311 


WHENCE?— A  THANKSGIVING  HYMN. 

Whence  came  the  soft  and  milky  corn 

The  lowland  vales  enriching  ? 
Whence  hawthorn  blossoms  that  adorn 

Our  country  lanes  bewitching  ? 
Whence  the  clouds  that  hang  aloft 

O'er  earth  their  fine  pavilions  ? 
The  herds  on  meadows  and  in  croft, 

That  feed  earth's  hungry  millions? 

Whence  came  the  flowers  that  fill  the  air 

With  fragrance  born  of  beauty  ? 
And  whence  came  all  things  pure  and  fair, 

Which  win  men  unto  duty  ? 
Whence  came  the  rays  so  swift  and  brightt 

On  sea  and  land  so  glorious  ? 
And  that  unseen  imperial  might, 

Which  makes  man's  will  victorious? 

Whence  came  the  father-heart  in  man  ? 

The  mother-heart  in  woman  ? 
The  love  throughout  the  mystic  plan, 

Which  makes  God's  children  human  ? 
These  came  not  blindly  into  birth : 

All  blessed  things  are  given  ; 
And  all  delights  receive  their  worth 

From  that  sweet  touch  of  heaven. 


TRIBUTES  FROM  MANY  SOURCES. 

[Scores  of  men  unite  in  praising  the  memory  of  the  faithful  pastor,  the 
eloquent  preacher,  the  honored  president  and  the  noble  friend.] 

Shortly  after  the  death  of  President  Deems  a  letter  was  sent 
to  some  of  the  men  with  whom  he  had  been  associated  in  the 
ministry  and  in  various  phases  of  Christian  activity.  From  the 
many  tributes  received  in  answer  to  this  letter,  the  following  are 
selected.  It  is  probable  that  in  succeeding  numbers  of  Chris- 
tian THOUGHT  space  may  be  found  for  further  tributes. 

FRANCIS  E.  Clark,  D.D.,  President  of  the  Society  of  Chris- 
tian Endeavor:  My  acquaintance  with  Dr.  Deems  dates  back 
about  eight  years,  when  he  was  invited  to  deliver  the  sermon  at 
one  of  the  early  Christian  Endeavor  Conventions  at  Saratoga. 

His  response  was  so  ready  and  the  sermon  was  so  eloquent 
and  appropriate,  that  he  then  and  there  captured  the  hearts  of  a 
multitude  of  young  people,  and  during  all  subsequent  years  they 
have  been,  in  an  ever-widening  circle,  his  constant  admirers  and 
affectionate  friends.  This  circumstance  was  characteristic  of  the 
life  of  our  dear  friend.  He  was  always  ready  to  help  a  good 
cause.  When  others  looked  askance  at  it,  and  were  afraid  to 
commit  themselves  to  anything  which  had  not  yet  become  popu 
lar,  he,  with  a  prophet's  vision,  could  see  the  possibilities  in  it  for 
good,  and  was  willing  to  commit  himself  to  its  advancement. 
Nor  was  it  a  grudging  half-way  service  which  he  rendered.  He 
did  not  qualify  his  commendations  with  "  ifs  "  and  "  buts  "  and 
cautions  and  scruples.  He  trusted  the  young  people  heartily, 
and  trusted  any  movement  which  enlisted  their  highest  spiritual 
faculties.  He  was  not  only  generous  and  appreciative,  but  in  his 
personal  relation  was  an  affectionate  friend.  Every  one  knew 
that  something  more  than  the  compliments  of  the  season  were 
on  his  lips.  He  spoke  from  the  heart,  and  not  from  the  tongue 
alone.  For  all  his  friends  he  wore  his  heart  upon  his  sleeve,  and 
yet  withal  possessed  so  much  shrewdness  and  practical  common 
sense  that  he  could  not  easily  be  deceived,  or  give  out  his  affec- 

312 


MEMORIAL   TRIBUTE.  3  I  3 

tions  in  the  wrong  direction.  The  world  is  poorer  to  me,  and  I 
am  sure  to  a  multitude  of  others,  because  our  dear  friend  has  left 
it,  but  heaven  is  the  richer,  and  now  forever  his  generous  sympa- 
thies, his  loving  heart  and  his  brilliant  mind  will  be  employed  in 
the  same  service  he  so  well  begun  below. 

Wilbur  B.  Ketcham,  Esq.,  Dr.  Deems's  publisher :  The 
peculiar  and  intimate  relations  with  the  lamented  Dr.  Deems 
which  grew  out  of  his  choice  of  myself  as  his  publisher,  have  af- 
forded signal  opportunity  to  note  the  genuineness  of  his  friend- 
ship and  the  helpfulness  of  his  counsel.  He  was  remarkably 
considerate  and  always  kind.  His  cheery  and  affable  manner 
ever  made  numerous  business  engagements  with  him  occasions 
of  real  pleasure.  Having  access  to  him,  by  his  special  directions, 
at  any  hour,  I  found  him  the  same  indefatigable  worker,  unceas- 
ing in  plans,  unwearied  in  studies.  I  remember  his  helpful  sug- 
gestions, and  his  hearty  sympathy.  His  co-operation  in  plans  of 
making  CHRISTIAN  THOUGHT  an  ever-increasing  power  in  the 
realm  of  the  world's  thought  will  be  long  remembered  with  grati- 
fication.    Dr.  Deems,  in  a  word,  possessed  great  nobility  of  soul. 

J.  H.  BASHFORD,  President  Ohio  Wesleyan  University  :  One 
evening  in  1888  when  I  was  presiding  at  a  prayer  meeting  lA. 
Delaware  Avenue  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  Buffalo,  N.Y.,  a 
man  of  very  attractive  presence  entered  the  chapel.  His  brief 
words  spoken  during  the  service  indicated  such  a  combination  of 
the  saint  and  the  philosopher  as  attracted  the  favorable  attention 
of  every  one.  At  the  close  of  the  service  I  learned  that  the 
stranger  was  Dr.  Deems,  a  man  whose  writings  had  won  my  ad- 
miration and  whose  reputation  as  pastor  of  the  Church  of  the 
Strangers  had  won  my  love  years  before.  There  is  a  striking 
combination  of  the  practical  tact  of  St.  James  and  the  saintliness 
of  St.  John  in  our  beloved  President. 

James  TALCOTT,  Esq.,  New  York:  In  the  long  and  honored 
career  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Chas.  F.  Deems  in  this  city,  his  work  in 
connection  with  the  Institute  of  Christian  Philosophy  will  per- 
haps be  his  most  enduring  monument.  Dr.  Deems  was  heard  to 
say  that  he  considered  the  founding  and  endowment  of  the  In- 


314  MEMORIAL   TRIBUTE. 

stitute  of  Christian  Philosophy  as  one  of  the  most  important 
events  of  his  life.  To  this  end  he  labored  long  and  earnestly  for 
many  years,  and  the  success  which  attended  his  endeavors  gave 
him  the  keenest  pleasure.  Dr.  Deems  was  a  truly  great  preacher. 
A  member  of  his  congregation  for  many  years  said,  "  Dr.  Deems 
at  every  service  delivered  three  sermons,  one  in  his  intelligent 
reading  of  the  Scriptures,  one  in  his  prayers,  and  one  in  the 
spoken  word."  But  great  as  he  was  as  preacher,  teacher  and 
literary  worker  it  was  the  personality  of  the  man  that  endeared 
him  to  us.  Dr.  Deems  was  a  Christian  gentleman,  he  was  a  man 
and  it  was  the  intense  humanity  of  the  man  that  endeared  him 
to  those  who  came  into  contact  with  him. 

Rev.  Russell  H.  Conwell,  Philadelphia  :  I  wish  to  ex- 
press my  deep  sense  of  gratitude  to  the  brethren  who  have  un- 
dertaken to  arrange  for  this  tribute  to  Dr.  Deems.  His  inde- 
pendence of  men  and  his  allegiance  to  God  were  actually  sublime. 
Few  men  of  this  generation  have  made  such  a  permanent  impress 
upon  the  institutions  and  upon  the  religious  thought  of  the  age; 
and  few  men  will  be  more  tenderly  remembered  by  the  large  cir- 
cle of  friends  who  loved  him  with  the  closeness  of  a  family  re- 
lation. 

Mrs.  Jane  Bancroft  Robinson,  Detroit  :  You  ask  me  for 
an  expression  regarding  the  life-work  of  Dr.  Deems.  To  my 
thought  his  greatest  gift  to  the  world  was  the  joyous,  helpful 
stimulus  he  imparted  to  those  with  whom  he  was  brought  in  con- 
tact. Some  will  recall  him  as  the  magnetic,  broad-hearted 
preacher  of  the  Word  of  God,  whose  heart  was  open  to  all  so  that 
he  named  his  church  the  Church  of  the  Strangers,  that  none 
might  feel  without  a  home  within  the  Church  of  God.  Others 
will  recall  him  as  the  graceful,  versatile,  thoughtful  writer  whose 
books  have  aided  and  instructed  thousands  of  readers;  while  it 
may  be  that  he  will  be  longest  remembered  as  the  founder  and 
first  President  of  the  American  Institute  of  Christian  Philosophy 
an  institution  which  has  brought  together  some  of  the  best  think- 
ers and  writers  of  the  intellectual  life  in  America,  to  use  their  ef- 
forts for  the  upbuilding  of  Christ's  kingdom. 

Dr.  Deems  had  a  wealth  of  sympathy  for  his  friends.     It  was 


MEMORIAL   TRIBUTE.  31^ 

a  delight  for  him  to  give  of  this  wealth  to  those  who  were  hun- 
gering and  starving  in  the  world  about  him.  Would  that  his 
mantle  might  fall  on  other  strong  and  noble  souls,  who  may  be 
just  as  broad,  just  as  good,  just  as  exalted  in  their  ideals  as  was 
he,  but  who,  so  far,  have  failed  of  being  bright  and  joyous  spirits 
of  life  and  light  to  those  whom  they  meet  in  daily  converse. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Alexander  Mackay-Smith,  Washington. 
A  few  weeks  after  Dr.  Deems  was  confined  to  his  room,  he  re- 
ceived a  letter  from  the  Rev.  Dr.  Alexander  Mackay-Smith,  for 
a  number  of  years  Archdeacon  of  the  Diocese  of  New  York, 
which  cheered  him  very  much.  Permission  has  been  secured  to 
print  the  letter.     Dr.  Mackay-Smith  wrote  : 

DEAR  FRIEND:  I  have  not  realized  until  very  lately  how  ill 
you  have  been.  You  are  very,  very  dear  to  me,  and  I  hope  you 
will  not  think  me  careless  because  I  have  not  written  before,  the 
truth  being  that  I  have  felt  that  you  knew  I  loved  you,  and  that 
you  were  so  surrounded  by  other  loving  friends  nearer  at  hand, 
that  my  voice  and  words  were  not  needed. 

You  are  resting  now  and  waiting  for  the  Lord  to  decide,  but 
whatever  the  result,  I  know  well  enough  that  you  will  be  con- 
tent. Sometimes  the  thought  must  come  to  you  of  those  you 
have  helped  by  your  life  and  work,  and  you  may  have  wondered 
who  they  were  who  would  some  day  stand  up  before  the  Throne 
and  testify  for  you.  I  wish  to  say  to  you,  so  lovingly  and  grate- 
fully, that  I  am  one  of  them.  You  will  be  far  in  advance  of  me 
among  the  crowding  ranks  of  our  dear  Lord's  children  in  that 
day,  but  you  will  hear  my  voice  from  far  away  behind  crying, 
"  This  one  helped  me  along  the  rough,  steep  road,  my  Master/' 

When  I  ask  myself  how  you  have  done  it,  I  feel  that  it  is  be- 
cause you  have  by  your  example,  made  me  love  my  brethren 
better,  and  softened  my  heart  at  times  when  it  felt  hard,  and 
cold,  and  narrow  in  its  sympathies.  I  do  not  recall  to  whom  I 
owe  more  these  past  ten  years  than  to  you  spiritually.  I  am  a 
better  man  because  I  have  known  you.  The  thought  of  you  has 
aided  me  in  hours  of  temptation.  You  have  made  Christ  dearer 
to  me,  as  to  hundreds  of  others.  When  I  met  you  I  have  wanted 
to  put  my  arms  about  you  and  tell  you  this.     If  I  outlive  you,  it 


316  MEMORIAL   TRIBUTE. 

will  always  be  to  me  a  blessed  memory  that  I  have  known  you. 
Surely  yours  must  be  a  happy  illness,  since  you  threw  your 
strength  in  so  many  lives.  May  God  spare  you  yet  to  your  peo- 
ple, to  me,  to  all  of  us. 

W.  Henry  Green,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  President  of  Princeton  The- 
ological Seminary  :  I  honor  Dr.  Deems  very  highly  for  his  char- 
acter and  his  work. 

Bishop  A.  N.  LlTTLEJOHN,  of  the  Diocese  of  Long  Island  : 
I  had  no  knowledge  of  Dr.  Deems  except  through  his  writings 
published  in  Christian  Thought.  I  learned  from  these  to 
regard  him  as  a  wise,  learned  and  able  contributor  to  the  discus- 
sion of  the  great  questions  of  the  day,  arising  from  the  apparent 
conflict,  but  real  harmony  of  Science  and  Religion.  In  common 
with  all  who  knew  him,  I  mourn  his  death  as  a  serious  loss  to 
the  best  Christian  thinking  of  our  time. 

Prof.  G.  Macloskie,  of  Princeton  College  :  For  many  years 
I  knew  of  Dr.  Deems  as  an  eminent  pastor  and  a  good  friend 
of  temperance;  but  our  personal  acquaintance  was  brought 
about  a  few  years  ago  in  the  Congress  of  Christian  Philosophy. 
It  was  in  dealing  with  problems  on  the  borderland  of  Science 
and  Religion  that  I  marked  his  good  sense.  Though  himself 
strongly  and  justly  conservative,  he  was  not  carried  away  by  the 
common  fancy  that  men  should  endeavor  to  restrain  scientific 
investigation  or  speculation  in  the  leading  strings  of  their 
theology. 

Prof.  Edward  L.  Curtis,  of  the  Yale  Divinity  School : 
When  a  student  in  Union  Seminary,  I  purchased  at  a  small  shop 
some  visiting  cards,  and  the  proprietor  asked  me  if  I  ever  heard 
Dr.  Deems.  On  my  replying  that  I  occasionally  attended  the 
Church  of  the  Strangers  he  said, "  Well  Dr.  Deems  is  the  preacher 
for  a  poor  blockhead  like  me.  Most  of  them  I  can't  understand, 
but  I  can  Dr.  Deems.  He  is  the  preacher  for  a  blockhead  like 
me."  I  have  often  thought  that  if  there  were  more  preachers  for 
blockheads,  not  so  many  down  town  churches  would  have  to  be 
abandoned  in  the  midst  of  the  boarding-house  and  humble 
trades-people's  districts. 


MEMORIAL   TRIBUTE.  317 

Rev.  JOSEPH  COOK,  Boston:  Dr.  Deems's  departure  bereaves 
profoundly  the  cause  of  Christian  Philosophy  in  America.  He  was 
the  founder  of  the  American  Institute  and  its  head  and  soul.  He 
carried  for  years  not  only  the  cares  of  his  noble  Church  of  the 
Strangers,  but  those  also  of  editor  of  Christian  Thought. 
He  was  a  pioneer  in  difficult  departments  of  American  theology 
and  philosophy  in  their  application  to  the  needs  of  the  hour  and 
of  the  ages.  He  was  enterprising  and  bold,  but  not  too  bold.  He 
had  the  reverence  of  all  Christian  denominations  and  of  the  mass 
of  scholars  and  men  of  letters.  Eloquent,  genial,  heroic,  devout, 
evangelical,  biblical,  but  full  of  reverence  for  science,  he  com- 
bined qualities  of  both  endowment  and  training  that  are  not  often 
found  in  a  single  teacher  and  that  made  his  life  a  benediction  and 
inspiration. 

David  JAMES  BURRELL,  D.D.,  Pastor  Marble  Collegiate 
Church,  New  York:  The  last  time  I  saw  Dr.  Deems  was  just 
before  his  illness.  We  met  on  Union  Square  and  walked  up 
Broadway  together.  Our  conversation  was  about  the  work  of 
the  "  downtown  churches."  He  lamented  the  fact  that  so  many 
of  these  churches  are  following  the  drift  of  their  pewholders 
toward  the  outlying  parts  of  the  city.  "  As  for  the  Church  of 
the  Strangers,"  he  said,  <(it  has  been  greatly  blessed,  and  I  trust 
there  are  greater  blessings  in  store  for  it.  But  somebody  else 
must  take  hold  ;  the  veterans  must  make  way  for  younger  men."' 
As  we  parted  he  expressed  a  desire  to  remain  in  service  and  die 
with  the  harness  on.  He  was  greatly  beloved  by  his  fellow 
ministers.  I  have  never  known  a  man  in  whom  orthodoxy  and 
liberalism  were  so  thoroughly  combined.  He  held  to  the  old- 
fashioned  truths  with  all  his  heart,  yet  believed  that  the  world  is 
broad  enough  to  afford  room  for  all.  He  was  an  orthodox  lib- 
eral. His  life  was  abundant  in  good  works.  His  memory  will 
be  green  for  many  years.     His  influence  will  never  die. 

MORGAN  Dix,  D.D.,  rector  of  Trinity  Parish:  While  I  had  a 
very  strong  regard  for  Dr.  Deems,  I  was  not  on  intimate  terms 
with  him,  very  seldom  saw  him,  and  knew  very  little  about  his 
work,  except  in  a  general  way.  My  respect  for  his  memory  is 
so  great  that  I  should  not  like,  unfurnished   as   I   am,  to  write 


3l3  MEMORIAL   TRIBUTE, 

such  a  communication  as  you  suggest  for  publication  in  CHRIS- 
TIAN Thought. 

Wm.  Harman  Brown,  Treasurer  of  the  American  Institute 
of  Christian  Philosophy  :  No  words  can  adequately  express  the 
power  of  a  life  like  that  of  the  Rev.  Charles  F.  Deems.  Who 
can  tell  the  subtle,  tremendous,  far-reaching  influence  which  he 
has  exercised  upon  other  lives  in  his  own  generation  and  that 
will  be  felt  by  thousands  who  will  know  him  only  by  his  writings 
and  by  the  record  of  his  faithful  life  ?  And  what  was  the  secret 
of  his  influence?  Was  it  not  his  absolute,  consistent  devotion 
to  the  One  Divine  Master,  who  dominated  his  thought,  his  love, 
and  his  life  ?  It  has  been  my  privilege  for  years  to  call  Dr.  Deems 
my  friend,  and  the  loved  friend  of  my  family.  I  have  been  asso- 
ciated with  him  in  the  work  of  the  American  Institute  of  Chris- 
tian Philosophy  for  some  time  since  its  incorporation.  It  has 
been  a  work  which  has  lain  very  close  to  the  heart  of  Dr.  Deems, 
and  the  excellent  influence  of  the  articles  which  have  appeared 
in  its  mouthpiece,  Christian  Thought,  can  hardly  be  exag- 
gerated. One  of  Dr.  Deems's  most  earnest  desires  during  these 
last  years  of  his  life  was  to  have  the  American  Institute  of  Chris- 
tian Philosophy  established  upon  such  a  firm  financial  basis  that 
its  permanency  might  be  assured  and  its  influence  abiding. 
What  more  fitting  tribute  could  friends  make  to  his  memory  than 
"in  memoriam  "  contributions,  small  or  great,  towards  the  per- 
fecting of  the  work  to  which  he  had  given  such  earnest,  self- 
sacrificing  devotion  ? 

Daniel  W.  Mc  Williams,  Esq.,  Brooklyn  :  Three  qualities 
of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Deems  impressed  me  before  I  had  the  privilege  of  a 
personal  acquaintance  with  him  :  I.  The  versatility  of  his  talents 
coupled  with  his  diligence  in  using  them.  II.  His  devotional 
spirit.  III.  His  personal  work  with  individuals  for  the  salvation 
of  their  souls.     The  whole  world  seemed  to  be  his  parish. 

Chas.  D.  KELLOGG,  General  Secretary  Charity  Organization 
Society:  The  cause  of  scientific  philanthropy  has  lost  a  valu- 
able coadjutor  in  the  death  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Deems.  His  clear 
insight  into  moral  principles,  and  his  thoughtful  invest  gations 
into  their  application  in  the  realm  of  charity,  rendered  his  judg- 
ment valuable  and  his  co-operation  most  helpful.  I  shall  greatly 
miss  his  sympathy. 


ELECTION  OF  PRESIDENT  DEEMS'S  SUCCESSOR. 

The  officers  of  the  American  Institute  of  Christian  Philoso- 
phy met  in  the  Pastor's  study  at  the  Church  of  the  Strangers  on 
December  5,  1893.  The  Rev.  Dr.  Amory  H.  Bradford  was  asked 
to  preside,  and  he  opened  the  meeting  with  prayer.  The  Rev. 
Edward  M.  Deems  was  invited  to  sit  with  the  members  and  take 
part  in  their  deliberations.  On  motion  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  D.  S. 
Gregory,  seconded  by  William  O.  McDowell,  it  was 

Resolved,  That  a  committee  of  three,  of  which  Dr.  Bradford 
shall  be  chairman,  be  appointed  to  prepare  a  suitable  memorial 
on  the  death  of  President  Deems. 

The  name  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Robert  S.  MacArthur  was  substi- 
tuted ior  that  of  Dr.  Bradford  and  the  members  of  the  committee 
•as  appointed  were  :  Robert  S.  MacArthur,  D.D.,  D.  S.  Gregory, 
D.D.,  and  Prof.  Daniel  S.  Martin. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  "McDowell,  seconded  by  Dr.  Gregory,  it  was 

Resolved,  That  we  now  proceed  to  elect  a  President. 

On  motion  of  Dr.  Gregory  it  was  unanimously 

Resolved,  That  the  Secretary  be  directed  to  cast  a  ballot  for 
Dr.  Amory  H.  Bradford,  for  President. 

The  Secretary  having  cast  the  ballot,  Dr.  Bradford  was  de- 
clared elected  to  the  office  of  President  for  the  unexpired  term. 

On  motion  it  was 

Resolved,  That  the  Board  of  Trustees  be  requested  to  take 
into  consideration  the  matter  of  increasing  the  Endowment 
Fund. 


THE  YEARS. 


The  years  that  come  to  us  are  dumb, 

Their  footsteps  rhythmic,  low, 
We  hear  not  as  they  swiftly  come 

And  yet  more  swiftly  go. 

Each  brings  us  something  we  must  keep, 

And  each  doth  something  take  ; 
Thus  we  are  changing  while  we  sleep, 
And  changing  while  we  wake. 

— From  "My  Septuagint." 
319 


3^°  MEMORIAL  TRIBUTE* 

TRUE    CHRISTIAN  PHILOSOPHY. 

Dr.  Deems,  not  long  before  his  death,  said  that  he  believed 
the  poem  which  follows,  would  live  longer  than  any  other  of  his 
many  writings  : 

*  I  ' 


^^^  Jr  i&c* 


*fi/uwj» 


